One person was injured after a man fired shots during a protest against a statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate in the city of Española, N.M.
The injured man, who was shot in the upper part of his torso, was rushed to a local hospital.
The event occurred at 12:30 p.m. local time. Several people were protesting the installation of the statue near the Rio Arriba County offices when, suddenly, an altercation broke out in the crowd, and a gunshot was heard, according to statements form a spokesperson for the county sheriff's office to CBSNews.
In a video posted on social media, several of the protesters are seen trying to stop the shooter before he opens fire. He then gets away from them, pulls out his gun and fires it.
WARNING: The following images may be disturbing for some audiences
BREAKING: Shooting at a protest in Rio Aribba County, New Mexico.
Suspect is in custody. pic.twitter.com/bkRaOUjtkl
— PoliticsVerse 🇺🇸 (@PoliticsVerse_) September 28, 2023
The previous day, the statue's installation was postponed due to safety concerns. In statements reported by the Associated Press, Billy Merrifield, sheriff of Rio Arriba County, assured that he had alerted the county commissioners about the potential consequences of unveiling the statue:
Once again, the saddest part about this is we have another incident of gun violence.
