Santa Teresa home hit by stray bullets just weeks after family moves in
SANTA TERESA, New Mexico (KVIA) -- A homeowner in Santa Teresa says stray gunfire struck his house overnight, leaving damage to his garage and raising concerns about his family's safety.
The homeowner, who asked not to be identified, said he and his family moved into the neighborhood about three weeks ago and discovered the damage Sunday morning.
“I woke up with a hole in my garage, saw the light right through it,” the resident said. “So I looked into it, and I saw there was a projectile inside my solo cups on top of my freezer, which is crazy because it’s in line with my daughter’s room.”
The resident said a second projectile appeared to have ricocheted off the side of the home and landed near the front doorstep.
Police responded to the home and filed a report, but the resident says they told him to file a report with "the city."
“They filed a report for me and said I can get that within a week so I can file an insurance claim,” the resident said. “It’s not under warranty, so I have to pay out of pocket for the damage.”
The Sunland Park Police Department said its officers do respond to calls for service in the neighborhood, but the area known as “the wall” falls under the jurisdiction of the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office.
Santa Teresa is an unincorporated community in Doña Ana County.
Doña Ana County Sheriff Kim Stewart said agencies in the region work closely together but have defined service areas.
“Sunland Park Police and DASO deputies are cross-commissioned, as are the other 400 or so law enforcement officers in the county, but we do not provide service directly to that city,” Stewart said. “I know the area of which you speak, and we have met with SPPD Interim Chief and City Manager on this problem.”
The homeowner said the garage had recently been repaired and repainted following prior construction-related damage.
The area near Santa Teresa is known for open land where some people gather to hike, off-road and shoot firearms, commonly referred to by locals as “the wall.” Residents say the activity can last for hours, sometimes into the night.
Doña Ana County District 2 Commissioner Gloria Gameros said the county is working with the three private owners of land that makes up “the wall” to place new no trespassing signs and working gates to close off the property.
The homeowner said he was inside his garage until about 8 p.m. Saturday and did not notice anything unusual, leading him to believe the rounds may have been fired overnight.
He described feeling alarmed after realizing how close one of the rounds came to his child’s bedroom.
“I was concerned, I was worried and scared,” the resident said. “Now I can’t even have my daughter in her own room to play or sleep. I have to keep her in my bedroom further away from that area.”
ABC-7 spoke to another neighbor on the same street in October 2025, who said his house had been struck by bullets twice in a year.
Gameros said a gate at one entrance off Pete Domenici Highway is currently broken, and that the New Mexico Department of Transportation also previously ran cattle wire along the area surrounding the highway, but some parts of it were cut by trespassers.
“I’m all about guns, but gun safety is my number one priority,” the resident said. “Once you introduce alcohol or drugs, people start shooting in whatever direction they want, and that’s when someone gets hurt.”
He said the shooting area is roughly a mile away.
“There are no real rules out there, it’s first-come, first-served,” the resident said.
“This has been a frustrating situation,” Gameros said.
Once new gates and signage are installed, Gameros said law enforcement agencies, including New Mexico State Police, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office and Sunland Park Police, will be notified and will be better able to cite individuals who trespass.
“I just want more infrastructure so these rounds don’t exit the range and harm people or homes,” the resident said. “Before long, it’s going to be more than just a building getting shot.”
