BY: ABQ RAW staff
POSTED: 11/25/2023 @ 9:30PM
14-year-old Isaiah Montoya
Albuquerque –
According to an email by APD, the person responsible for the mass panic and chaos at Coronado Mall on Black Friday has been identified and charged.
The email says, APD charged 14-year-old Isaiah Montoya for Friday’s shooting at Coronado Mall. Nobody was injured in the shooting. Police are working to arrest Montoya on his charges.
A few people in the comments of our stories identified the shooter’s Instagram post and other eagle eyed people messaged us that calling 505-242-COPS was being put on constant hold when they called with the ID tips.
Shortly after the shooting at around 3:51 p.m. on Friday, officers detained a juvenile who was involved in a fight with Montoya. The juvenile said he used to be friends with Montoya, but they have been in an ongoing dispute over social media. He admitted to running up to Montoya at the mall and punching him.
The juvenile said Montoya produced a silver handgun and started chasing him and another individual. The first juvenile fell during the chase, and he said Montoya continued to run after the second individual. Montoya decided to exit the mall, and can be seen in surveillance video with the gun partially in his waistband. He motions for the second individual to come toward him.
According to surveillance video and eyewitnesses, including an off-duty Bernalillo County Sheriff’s lieutenant, Montoya first walks away from the mall entrance, but then turns back toward an open door. A gunshot could be heard at that point, causing shoppers and workers inside the mall to panic.
Additional video surveillance shows Montoya manipulating the handgun once he was outside the mall. That video shows him turning back toward the mall, abruptly raising the handgun and firing a round. He immediately turned and ran away toward Menaul Blvd. One bullet casing was located near where Montoya fired the handgun. An impact was later discovered above the entrance to the mall near the Coronado sign. Investigators determined that is where the bullet struck the building.
A gun matching the firearm used by Montoya was discovered on Saturday, November 25th, 2023, near the mall and was turned over to police.
A warrant was approved by the Children’s Court that charges Montoya with Shooting at an Occupied Building, Disorderly Conduct, Unlawful Possession of a Handgun by a Person, Unlawful Carrying of a Deadly Weapon (concealed loaded firearm), and Criminal Damage to Property.
It is unclear if Montoya’s guardians will be charged under Bennie’s Law, the law states if a child gets a negligently stored gun and hurts or kills someone it is a fourth-degree felony and punishable by up to a year and a half behind bars. If they don’t hurt anyone, it’s a misdemeanor.