NEWS
Las Cruces teen’s death brings life to family friend
After 13-year-old Chris Carnero was fatally shot in Las Cruces, his kidney was donated to a family friend
It was Sam Burgess’ 46th birthday when he received the call that he was a match for a kidney donation and would need to fly to Rochester, Minnesota, as quickly as possible for a transplant.
Burgess had been trying for some time to get a kidney to treat his polycystic kidney disease (PKD), but he never expected the match would come from Chris Carnero, a 13-year-old boy who was fatally shot in late March by another 13-year-old in Las Cruces.
“Miraculously, Chris was a perfect match and so we were able to allocate that to him and he was able to go to surgery,” said Janel Carnero, Chris Carnero’s mother. “It helps in the smallest of moments just to know that a piece of him is here and in somebody we know.”
On March 31, Chris Carnero was fatally shot by his friend at his home in Las Cruces.
Janel Carnero said the night began the same as any other.
The teen, whom Las Cruces police described as a “frequent runaway who has been known to possess firearms," had been staying with the Carnero family at her son’s request.
“To think that there was something happening or something going on … we didn’t see any signs,” Janel Carnero said. “He was incredibly respectful and everything while he was with us.”
That night, she told the two boys goodnight and went to bed. Shortly after, she heard a loud thud come from the boys’ room. Then, she heard screaming.
When Janel Carnero walked in, she found her son lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the back of the head. It is unclear how the gun got into the house or why the teen allegedly shot at Chris Carnero.
Janel and her husband, Manny Carnero, called 911 and their son was airlifted to an El Paso medical center. Chris Carnero was placed on life support and was declared brain dead a week later.
The other teen was charged with negligent use of a deadly weapon and being a minor in possession of a deadly weapon. The Las Cruces Police Department did not identify the boy due to his age.
The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges may be filed at a later time, LCPD said.
Janel Carnero later reached out to Sam and Sheila Burgess, a couple whom the Carnero family knew. She knew of Sam’s struggle to find a kidney and decided to donate her son’s kidney to help Sam Burgess with his PKD battle.
PKD is a genetic disease that causes large cysts to grow in the kidneys, which can cause the kidney to lose function and often leads to kidney failure. Sheila Burgess said her husband’s cysts had grown to be roughly 20 pounds prior to his surgery.
“Janel had contacted us and said, ‘This is what I want to do. I think of Sam as a grown version of Chris,’" said Sheila Burgess. “She wanted him to get the kidney, and she really fought and contacted the Mayo Clinic and had the transplant team do a lot of stuff for him and he was a match.”
Janel Carnero said her son and Sam Burgess shared many similarities and interests, which compelled her to push for the kidney donation.
Janel said her son was a social boy who had a natural ability to make friends everywhere he went. Chris Carnero wanted to be a pilot and go on adventures when he grew up, she said.
“He’s (Sam Burgess) into fast cars and racing and he’s also into travel and adventure and all of those things,” she said. “That was definitely Chris, as well. It helps to know that he just wants to do good and help others and carry on all those adventures that Chris would want to do.”
Sam Burgess was a little hesitant to accept the kidney at first. He said that he didn’t want Janel Carnero to feel pressured after all she had been through, and, at the time, his diagnosis was not at a critical level.
But Janel was persistent, and eventually, Sam Burgess accepted.
“I just kept pushing back and pushing back and I didn’t want to put a bunch of hope into it,” he said. “That’s a very big thing for somebody to say, ‘Here, take this,' and I don’t think you see that in a lot of people.”
It was around 9 a.m. April 10 — Sam Burgess’ birthday — when he learned that Chris’ kidney was a match. He and his wife booked the next flight to Minnesota for the transplant.
The following day, a doctor told Sam Burgess that he would go into surgery. Seven hours later, Sam Burgess was in stable condition with a new, functional kidney.
“It was just the most beautiful, selfless act on her part to do this,” Sheila Burgess said.
Sam and Sheila Burgess are still in Minnesota to monitor his condition, but they are expected to return home in late April.
As for the Carnero family, Janel Carnero is using her voice to fight for a safer city for all Las Cruces children. Though the shooting was a devastating tragedy, she said the community has banded together to bring awareness to gun violence.
To date, books have been donated to 13 libraries across the world, sports equipment has been given to 18 children’s clubs and thousands of stuffed animals have been donated to children’s hospitals, all in Chris Carnero’s name.
“Our systems failed him and failed us in the most devastating of ways, but I’m holding on to hope that his love and light will help us to make the changes needed,” Janel Carnero said. “Chris would want a better, safer place where his friends can go outside and ride their scooters and not be worried about somebody having a handgun and shooting them.”
Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.