Luis Angel Ruiz, School Zone Shooting, New Mexico 2025

Las Cruces, New Mexico – In a shocking turn of events, a 22-year-old Las Cruces man has been federally charged in connection with a September 2025 school zone shooting investigation.

The incident occurred on September 6, 2025, at Young Park in Las Cruces, New Mexico, when Las Cruces Police Department officers responded to reports of gunfire. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, but officers recovered multiple spent shell casings from the parking lot.

After reviewing social media messages discussing the shooting, investigators identified Luis Angel Ruiz as the person who fired the shots and claimed ownership of the firearm involved. Ballistic evidence, eyewitness statements, and social media posts showing Ruiz in possession of the weapon linked him to the firearm.

Ruiz was stopped by Las Cruces police on September 24, 2025, for traffic violations and arrested for driving under the influence. During the stop, officers recovered four firearms from the vehicle, including a handgun with an obliterated serial number. Ruiz admitted the firearms belonged to him and investigators later identified social media messages in which he attempted to sell the firearm with the removed serial number.

Ruiz is charged with discharging a firearm in a school zone and possession of a firearm with a removed serial number. He will remain in custody pending a detention hearing, which has not been scheduled. If convicted of the current charges, Ruiz faces 10 years in prison.

Two other defendants, John Anthony Orta and Steven Mendoza, have already been charged in connection with the shooting. Orta pled guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm in a school zone and faces up to five years in prison, while Mendoza remains on conditions of release pending trial.

The Las Cruces Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office’s Southern New Mexico Safe Streets Gang Task Force investigated this case with assistance from the Las Cruces Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo is prosecuting the case.

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