Current:Home > Stocks1 wounded in shooting at protest over New Mexico statue of Spanish conquistador -Edge Finance Strategies
1 wounded in shooting at protest over New Mexico statue of Spanish conquistador
View
Date:2025-04-17 07:35:54
A protester was wounded in a shooting during a demonstration against a plan to redisplay a statue of a controversial Spanish conquistador in the New Mexico city of Española on Thursday, authorities said. A suspect has been arrested.
The shooting occurred a little before 12:30 p.m. local time in front of the county's offices, where the statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate was to have been displayed before the county reversed course the night before, Rio Arriba County Sheriff Billy Merrifield said in a news briefing.
A large crowd of protesters had gathered outside the location, and the shooting stemmed from an altercation between them, a sheriff's office spokesperson told CBS News.
The male victim was shot in the upper torso and was taken to a local hospital. His condition was unknown, the sheriff's spokesperson said.
The sheriff's spokesperson identified the suspect as 23-year-old Ryan Martinez. The exact circumstances that precipitated the shooting were unclear.
The suspected gunman had been told by police to leave after arguing with protestors and using obscene language, the Associated Press reported.
In a cell phone video posted to social media and provided to CBS News, the suspect can be seen returning to the site of the protest and jumping a short wall, where he's confronted by several demonstrators who attempt to grab him. He breaks free, jumps back over the wall, produces a handgun, and fires a single shot into a group of people.
The video shows him then fleeing on foot across the parking lot as a few witnesses appear to try to chase him down. Deputies are seen arriving within minutes.
Merrifield told reporters that the Oñate statue had previously been removed from a different location in 2020. However, Rio Arriba County commissioners recently decided to relocate and redisplay the statue at the county's Española annex, and a rededication ceremony had been scheduled for Thursday.
The sheriff said he submitted a letter to the county commissioners last week "advising them of my concerns," and informing them that he "disagreed with" their decision to move the statue "at the current time."
"More importantly, just to prevent any safety issues, concerns, that we knew we were going to have," Merrifield added. "And obviously we have a situation as of today."
Merrifield said two of the three commissioners agreed to cancel the ceremony following his letter. The sheriff's spokesperson said commissioners made the decision not to go forward with the ceremony late Wednesday night.
"I'm very grateful for that, and they made the decision to not do it, with all the safety concerns that have risen from this," Merrifield told reporters.
Española is located about 25 miles north of Santa Fe. New Mexico State Police, which is leading the investigation into the shooting, did not immediately reply to a CBS News request for comment.
In June 2020, another man was shot while protesters in Albuquerque, New Mexico, were attempting to tear down a different Oñate statue.
Oñate was a Spanish explorer who colonized New Mexico for Spain in the 16th and 17th centuries and served as the region's governor. He was known for his brutality against indigenous people and settlers, and his statues have sparked criticism and controversy.
- In:
- New Mexico
- Shooting
- Protest
veryGood! (47224)
Related
- Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
- Kamilla Cardoso formidable and immovable force for South Carolina, even when injured
- Led by Castle and Clingan, defending champ UConn returns to NCAA title game, beating Alabama 86-72
- Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher announce divorce after 13 years of marriage
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- Student arrested at Georgia university after disrupting speech on Israel-Hamas war
- McDonald's buying back its franchises in Israel as boycott hurt sales
- 50 love quotes to express how you feel: 'Where there is love there is life'
- Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
- Will the 2024 total solar eclipse hit near you? A detailed look at the path of totality.
Ranking
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- NASCAR at Martinsville spring 2024: Start time, TV, streaming, lineup for Cook Out 400
- Foul or no foul? That's the challenge for officials trying to referee Purdue big man Zach Edey
- Who's hosting 'SNL' tonight? Cast, musical guest, where to watch April 6 episode
- Elon Musk's skyrocketing net worth: He's the first person with over $400 billion
- What Trades Can You Execute on GalaxyCoin Exchange
- Suspended Orlando commissioner ordered to stay away from woman she’s accused of defrauding
- Why You Should Avoid Moisturizers With Sunscreen, According to Khloe Kardashian's Aesthetic Nurse
Recommendation
Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
Why You Should Avoid Moisturizers With Sunscreen, According to Khloe Kardashian's Aesthetic Nurse
How Whitty Books takes an unconventional approach to bookselling in Tulsa, Oklahoma
What Trades Can You Execute on GalaxyCoin Exchange
Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
Bachelor Alum Hannah Ann Sluss Reveals the Most Important Details of Her Wedding to Jake Funk
Lionel Messi scores goal in return, but Inter Miami turns sights on Monterrey after draw
Connecticut pulls away from Alabama in Final Four to move one win from repeat title