Rio Rancho police searching for suspects in house party shooting involving teens
RIO RANCHO, N.M. — Rio Rancho police are still looking for whomever opened fire in a quiet neighborhood over the weekend.
That shooting means you might see extra security at one of the biggest high school football games of the season later this week.
Officers responded to calls of shots fired around 11:15 p.m. Saturday on the 5500 block of Dona Ana Loop NE, Rio Rancho police said.
RRPD reps add at least one person was shooting a rifle-style gun into the air, and the gunshots were in response to a dispute over uninvited guests showing up at the party.
It was a house party with juveniles, a spokesperson for Rio Rancho Police Department said, but it’s still unclear if it was a juvenile firing the gun.
We spoke to the homeowner where the party was and she says it was her daughter’s 17th birthday that was crashed by a group of teens, and said her daughter was trying to kick the unwanted guests out when a teenager started driving past her house shooting the gun in the air.
Neighbors in the area shared what that night was like for them, but said they did not want to appear on camera or be identified.
“I was like, this is not normal,” one neighbor said. “This is not a party. I knew they were having a huge party at that house, because you could see the cars in front and kids having fun. I mean, it was a Halloween party, and that was to be expected, the noise, but the gunshots no. I was worried about my dogs, which were in my bedroom, and the bullets coming through the ceiling, which is scary, and because of that, that’s why we called the police.”
No one has been arrested, there were no injuries reported and officers are still investigating the incident, according to RRPD, but it’s been hard because of rumors swirling on social media.
One of those is that the dispute was because of ongoing issues between Rio Rancho and Cleveland High School students; the schools are set to play each other in a football game this Friday.
So, we reached out to the Rio Rancho School District about the shooting and plans for the upcoming game. A spokesperson with the school district sent us the following statement:
“Rio Rancho Public Schools has a very dedicated safety and security team who is committed to ensuring the safety of everyone on our campuses and facilities during both school and after-hours events. We will have Rio Rancho police officers and RRPS security personnel at Friday’s RRHS v. CHS football game to monitor behavior and respond to any issues. The investigation into last night’s incident is ongoing, but as of yet, we have no reason to believe that it was caused by any rivalries between schools. Still, we understand that situations like this can cause a heightened sense of fear and anxiety among our students, staff, and parents. We would like to assure our community that the RRPS safety and security department will take all appropriate measures to maintain the safety of those on any district facilities while in use.”
Rio Rancho police are still asking the public for any information or video of this incident.
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