Police: hikers robbed, assaulted on Mount Cristo Rey

A family’s annual tradition of hiking up Mount Cristo Rey was violently interrupted when two armed men robbed several hikers.

When ABC-7 arrived Sunday morning, police officers were armed with rifles at the base of the mountain.

Sunland Park Police were called to scene at about 10:20 a.m. They say at least four people were robbed, and two were assaulted with air rifles.

Robert Perez and his family were doing the annual Mount Cristo Rey pilgrimage, which is set for next weekend, one week early to avoid the crowd. He said while walking and praying, two men approached his cousin.

“The guy had a rifle and with that rifle they hit him in the back of the head twice which cut him up,” Perez said. “But he was able to get away from it and run down here and that’s when he got medical attention and unfortunately he had to go to the hospital.”

ABC-7 spoke with another hiker who says the two men snatched his cell phone out of his hands and hit him in the head.

“They pointed at me with a rifle and told me, ‘If you want we can shoot you right now,’ and I said, ‘no, don’t shoot me,'” Juan Jose Jurado said.

Police are still searching for the two suspects.

A spokesman for Mount Cristo Rey said they advise people not to climb the mountain on their own for the remainder of the week. He said the trail will be open Sunday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the annual pilgrimage.