Police say a dispute over loud music escalated into a fight before the child retrieved a handgun and shot 16-year-old Keinerlein Rangel.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A 40-year-old Albuquerque woman has been charged with murder after police said her 10-year-old son fatally shot a 16-year-old girl during a neighborhood dispute over loud music at a Northeast Albuquerque apartment complex.
Elaina Gomez-Villeda was arrested after the Oct. 31 shooting that killed Keinerlein Rangel in the 200 block of Tennessee Street, according to Albuquerque police and court records described by local news organizations. Police allege Gomez-Villeda became involved in a physical confrontation with Rangel and Rangel’s mother and later told her son to retrieve a handgun from an apartment. The boy returned with the gun and fired once, police said. Authorities have not charged the child and are consulting prosecutors and state officials about what action, if any, can be taken because of his age.
Police were called to the apartment complex at about 4:02 p.m. after a report of a shooting. Investigators said the confrontation began when Gomez-Villeda complained about loud music coming from a neighboring apartment. According to a criminal complaint, Rangel’s mother told investigators that she and her daughter were listening to music when Gomez-Villeda came to their door and asked them to lower the volume. The dispute later became physical.
Rangel’s mother told investigators that Gomez-Villeda began hitting her and her daughter as they were outside the apartment, according to the complaint. Police said Gomez-Villeda’s 10-year-old son initially tried to intervene in the fight. Investigators allege Gomez-Villeda then instructed the boy to go into their apartment and get a handgun. The child returned outside with the firearm and shot Rangel, police said. Rangel died at the scene.
Gomez-Villeda then took her son back inside her apartment, according to police. Investigators said she called 911 and reported that she had been attacked and that one of the people involved had been shot. The complaint also says she sent her husband a text message saying, “I’m probably going to jail right now.” Police have said the firearm believed to have been used in Rangel’s death was later found outside Gomez-Villeda’s apartment and had previously been reported stolen from Santa Fe.
Rangel’s father arrived after learning that his daughter had been shot, according to investigators. Gomez-Villeda told detectives that he tried to open her apartment door and broke a window while she was on the phone with emergency dispatchers. She said she grabbed another gun and fired in an effort to make him leave. Police arriving at the complex heard a gunshot from inside the apartment and took cover.
Several people eventually came out of the apartment, followed by Gomez-Villeda, who was holding a handgun, police said. An Albuquerque police officer fired toward her, but the rounds missed and struck a pillar at the apartment building. Gomez-Villeda surrendered and was taken into custody. No officers were injured. A Multi-Agency Task Force is separately investigating the officer’s use of force.
Police arrested Gomez-Villeda on an open count of murder and also accused her of child abuse, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, negligently making a firearm accessible to a minor, battery and receiving a stolen firearm. The allegations have not been proven in court. Gomez-Villeda remained in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center following her arrest.
Police initially described the shooting victim as 17 years old but later clarified that Rangel was 16. Albuquerque Police Department homicide statistics list the Oct. 31 killing at 238 Tennessee St. NE as a firearm homicide and identify Gomez-Villeda as an arrested suspect. The department classified the case as solved for statistical purposes as of Nov. 1, though the criminal case and related investigations remain pending.
The 10-year-old boy has not been publicly identified because he has not been charged. Albuquerque police said homicide detectives are working with the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office and state officials to determine whether criminal charges are legally applicable given his age. Detectives continue to investigate Rangel’s death while the separate task force reviews the officer-involved shooting.