Albuquerque Mom Charged With Murder After Police Say Her 10-Year-Old Son Fetched Her Handgun and Shot a 16-Year-Old Girl During Loud Music Fight
Key Takeaways
- Albuquerque mother Elaina Gomez-Villeda, 40, is charged with murder after her 10-year-old son fatally shot 16-year-old Keinerlein Rangel on October 31.
- Police say Gomez-Villeda told her son to retrieve her handgun during a physical fight with Rangel's mother over loud music.
- Rangel was struck and killed by one shot after she attempted to stop the fight between the two adults.
- Gomez-Villeda faces charges including murder, child abuse, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and receiving a stolen firearm.
- The 10-year-old boy has not been charged, but detectives and the district attorney's office are working to determine how to proceed.
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ALBUQUERQUE, NM — An Albuquerque mother is charged with murder after police say her 10-year-old son brought her handgun out during a fight over loud music and fired one shot that killed a 16-year-old girl.
Elaina Gomez-Villeda, 40, was arrested and charged Sunday, Albuquerque police said on Facebook, as reported by FOX 35 Orlando. FOX 35 drew on the department’s post, Bernalillo County jail records, and reporting by KRQE.
The confrontation happened Saturday, Oct. 31. According to KRQE’s reporting cited by FOX 35, Gomez-Villeda allegedly got into a physical fight with the mother of 16-year-old Keinerlein Rangel over loud music. Rangel tried to stop it.
That is when Gomez-Villeda allegedly told her son to get her handgun. The boy came back with it. He fired once. The round struck Rangel and killed her, police said.
Gomez-Villeda then brought her son back inside their home. She allegedly texted her husband, “I’m probably going to jail right now.” Then she called 911.
During that call, a man believed to be Rangel’s father allegedly tried to open Gomez-Villeda’s door and broke a window. According to KRQE’s reporting, Gomez-Villeda then allegedly shot at the man in an attempt to make him leave.
As reported, this was a fistfight between two adults over noise, with a teenager trying to break it up. Deadly force is reserved for an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm. A dispute over loud music is the moment to separate, go inside, and call police. It is not the moment to send for a gun.
The other fact here is the one every gun owner with kids at home controls. A 10-year-old was able to get a handgun and bring it back while the fight was still going. A firearm in a home with children belongs locked up or on your body, not anywhere a child can retrieve it on command.
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Gomez-Villeda faces charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, child abuse, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, battery, and receiving a stolen firearm, according to the Bernalillo County jail inmate website as cited by FOX 35. The charges are allegations, and she is presumed innocent unless convicted.
The boy is not charged at this time, though that could change. Detectives, the district attorney’s office, and state officials are working to determine how to charge a minor.
Read the original story: Albuquerque Mom Charged With Murder After Police Say Her 10-Year-Old Son Fetched Her Handgun and Shot a 16-Year-Old Girl During Loud Music Fight