Featured
Family of slain 14-year-old alleges UNM police responded slowly to mother's report
Authorities investigate a deadly shooting at Casas del Rio (Gila), a student housing center on the UNM main campus, early Friday morning.
Published
Modified
A law firm representing the family of a 14-year-old boy fatally shot Friday on the University of New Mexico campus alleged Monday that university police failed to respond promptly to the mother鈥檚 reports that her son may have been the victim of a shooting.
The mother told UNM police by phone early Friday that her son, Michael LaMotte, may have been the victim of a shooting, but hours passed before police acted on the report, according to a statement issued Monday by the Albuquerque law firm Rothstein Donatelli.
鈥淗ours passed between Ms. LaMotte鈥檚 initial calls to law enforcement and the police arriving at the dorm room in which the shooting took place,鈥� the firm alleged.
The statement indicates that the LaMotte family, through their lawyers, are investigating UNM鈥檚 response to the shootings.
鈥淭he failure of police and UNM to take Ms. LaMotte鈥檚 complaints seriously is unimaginable,鈥� the statement said. 鈥淭his lengthy delay demonstrates that the incident was not handled with the appropriate level of seriousness demanded by an active shooter on a college campus.鈥�
A UNM spokeswoman said late Monday that she was unable to immediately respond to the law firm鈥檚 statement, which was released by email late Monday afternoon.
UNM President Garnett Stokes said in a statement Monday that the UNM community was reeling from LaMotte鈥檚 killing and grateful for the same-day arrest of the alleged gunman.
鈥淎nd to our incoming students and their families who participated in orientation activities that day: thank you for your trust and patience as we navigated this situation,鈥� Stokes said in the statement.
Some 400 new freshmen were housed in UNM dorms for new-student orientation at the time of the shootings.
Prosecutors allege that John Patrick Fuentes, 18, killed LaMotte, a Rio Rancho High School student, with a gunshot wound to the head, according to a pretrial detention motion filed Saturday in 2nd Judicial District Court.
Fuentes, of Los Lunas, is scheduled for a detention hearing on Thursday before Judge Joseph Montano. He remained in custody Monday at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
Court records show that a gunshot detection device picked up gunfire near the dorms at UNM shortly after midnight on Friday. UNM police got a call about an alarm and found broken windows and blood on the roof of Mesa Vista Hall.
About 2:30 a.m. Friday 鈥� after a UNM student showed up at a hospital with a gunshot wound 鈥� officers found LaMotte鈥檚 body in the student鈥檚 dormitory, according to records filed in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court.
The LaMotte family also alleges that UNM failed to inform LaMotte鈥檚 mother of her son鈥檚 killing in a timely manner, the law firm鈥檚 statement said.
鈥淚n fact, she first learned about his passing from local media outlets, despite the fact that she was on scene waiting to hear news of her son鈥檚 condition,鈥� the statement said. 鈥淭he disorienting shock and grief of this tragedy combined with the manner in which information has been publicly released has caused indescribable frustration and sorrow for the family.鈥�
However, the family thanked New Mexico State Police for Fuentes鈥� swift arrest.
State Police Chief Troy Weisler said in a briefing Friday night four young men were playing video games in a UNM dorm room early Friday morning when one of them opened fire on the others, killing LaMotte and wounding a 19-year-old.
Fuentes was arrested during a traffic stop in Los Lunas on Friday after police tracked Fuentes to the area using license plate readers, Weisler said.
UNM Police Chief Joseph Silva said the dorm room where the shooting occurred was at Casas del Rio, a student housing center at 420 Redondo Drive, north of Johnson Field. He said it was leased by one of the four people who were there when the gunfire erupted.
Prosecutors alleged in a pretrial detention motion that security video reviewed by State Police showed that Fuentes arrived at the UNM campus at about 8 p.m. Thursday in a black Mazda hatchback.
Fuentes met with LaMotte and Daniel Archuleta, who is described in court records as a gunshot victim, and a third person. They all walked to the Gila dormitory, the motion said.
A witness told police the four were playing video games in Archuleta鈥檚 dorm room when Fuentes shot LeMotte, who died in the dorm room, according to the pretrial detention motion.
Fuentes then pointed the gun at the witness, threatened him, then shot at Archuleta, wounding him in the back of the head, the motion said.
