ESPAÑOLA, N.M. (KRQE) – A man faces two charges for a shooting at a protest where officials had planned to place a statue of Juan de Oñate in Española. The shooting happened Thursday around noon, at the Rio Arriba County Complex.
The victim was shot somewhere in the “upper torso area near the chest,” according to Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Major Lorenzo Aguilar. At this time, there is no update on the condition or the severity of their injuries.
Video shows the suspect, later identified as 23-year-old Ryan Martinez, in a green sweatshirt and “Make America Great Again” hat standing in the crowd alongside other counter-protesters. It also shows protestors trying to kick him out of the area right in front of the sheriff’s office. “He was trying to get back into the circle. And they were trying to hold him from coming back in because there were children there. And that’s when an altercation took place,” said Raymon Naranjo who witnessed the shooting.
The video then shows Martinez jumping over a wall as the group chasing him tried to grab him before he pulled a gun from his waistband and fired a single shot. According to the sheriff’s office, after the shooting, Martinez drove off from the scene. Espanola police later arrested Martinez.
Martinez is now facing charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
