Police say the shooting followed a dispute over loud music that escalated into a fight between neighboring families.
ALBUQUERQUE, NM — A 10-year-old boy fatally shot a 16-year-old girl during a fight between neighbors Saturday, and his mother has been charged with murder after police alleged she told the child to retrieve a handgun from their apartment.
Albuquerque police identified the victim Sunday as Keinerlein Rangel, 16. Authorities initially reported that she was 17 but later corrected her age. Police said the confrontation began with a dispute over loud music at an apartment complex near Tennessee Street and Copper Avenue NE and escalated into a physical fight involving Rangel’s mother and 40-year-old Elaina Gomez-Villeda, the mother of the 10-year-old. Investigators said Rangel and the boy became involved as they tried to intervene.
Police allege Gomez-Villeda told her son to go inside their apartment and get her handgun during the confrontation. Investigators said the boy returned outside with the weapon and fired once, striking Rangel. She died at the scene. The boy has not been publicly identified because he has not been charged, and detectives are working with the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office and state officials to determine whether criminal charges are appropriate given his age.
Gomez-Villeda was arrested Sunday and charged with an open count of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, child abuse, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, negligently making a firearm accessible to a minor, misdemeanor battery and receiving stolen property involving a firearm, according to police. The allegations against her have not been adjudicated, and the charges do not constitute a finding of guilt.
The shooting unfolded shortly before police arrived at the apartment complex. Officers responded shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday after receiving reports of gunfire. Investigators said Gomez-Villeda and her son had gone back inside their apartment following the fatal shooting. Police said another shot was later fired from inside the residence as officers reached the scene.
Investigators said Gomez-Villeda told detectives that Rangel’s father arrived after the shooting and attempted to enter her apartment after learning his daughter had been shot. Gomez-Villeda told police she fired a gun in an effort to make him leave. Authorities have not said that the shot struck anyone.
Police said officers took cover after the gunfire. Three people eventually came out of the apartment, followed by Gomez-Villeda, who was carrying a handgun. An Albuquerque police officer fired toward her, but the rounds missed and struck a pillar at the apartment building. Gomez-Villeda then surrendered, police said. No officers were injured.
The officer’s use of deadly force is being investigated separately by the Multi-Agency Task Force, while Albuquerque homicide detectives continue investigating Rangel’s death. Authorities have not announced whether the firearm involved in the fatal shooting was the same weapon Gomez-Villeda later carried outside when officers arrived.
The case also raised an unusual legal question because the person police say fired the fatal shot is 10 years old. Police officials said Saturday that they were consulting prosecutors about what charges, if any, could apply to the child. As of Sunday, authorities had not announced a charging decision involving him.
Police continue to investigate the sequence of events, the handling of the firearm and the actions of those involved. Gomez-Villeda faces multiple criminal charges, while the separate review of the responding officer’s gunfire remains underway. No further charging decision involving the 10-year-old had been announced as of Sunday.
Author note: Last updated November 1, 2026.