Las Cruces 1990 Bowling Alley Massacre Cold Case: New Technology, New Hope

Las Cruces Police Department detectives are hoping new technology could lead to a break in the cold case that’s haunted some residents for the past 22 years: the bowling alley massacre of 1990.

“It’s the worst thing that’s ever happened in Las Cruces’s history,” said Charlie Minn, who made a documentary on the subject entitled “Nightmare in Las Cruces.”

It was Feb. 10, 1990 at around 8:30 a.m. when authorities say two men burst into a bowling alley, led seven people into an office, shot them, and set part of the building on fire. Four people were killed, three others were seriously wounded. No arrests have been made in more than two decades.

“This department is 100 percent committed to solving this case,” said LCPD Detective Mark Myers.

Myers said they have fingerprints from the original crime scene they believe belong to the two suspects. He said advances in fingerprint technology could help bring the 1990-era investigation into the 21st century by obtaining the suspects’ DNA profiles.

“It’s kind of a new idea to try to extract the DNA from fingerprints. As technology advances, we hope that that’ll help us get a break in identifying these offenders.”

If you know anything, call the Las Cruces Police Department.