Gunshots Narrowly Miss Sleeping Family

SOUTHERN NM – Dona Ana County Sheriff’s investigators are looking into a drive-by shooting that happened on the East Mesa early Sunday.

Family members living at a home in the 9400 block of El Centro said they were awakened overnight by the sounds of gunfire. They discovered three rounds hit their home, with two shots coming through a pane of glass, one just inches from one resident’s head as he was sleeping.

A third round entered through a wall where the kitchen is located and exited through the rear of the residence, after passing through a kitchen cupboard and two walls. A total of six 9-millimeter shell casings were recovered on the roadway located in front of the residence, investigators said.

Everyone living at the home was asleep at the time of the shooting, investigators said. “My wife was the one that alerted me that the house was being shot at,” said Rafael Martinez, who narrowly escaped being shot. “When I woke up, the shots has already been shot and gone through.”

Investigators said the shooting appears to be gang related.

Anyone with information concerning the shooting is asked to contact Bo Nevarez, an investigor with the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Department, 575-525-1911.