Man Shot During Protest Over “La Jornada” Statue in New Mexico

Shots fired as protesters tried to remove the statue of the conquistador Juan de Oñate.

A man was shot Monday evening at a demonstration where protesters planned to topple the statue La Jornada by the Albuquerque Museum in New Mexico.

The shooter appeared to be a man in the blue shirt who had been rushed by protestors and attacked with skateboards.

Police said in a statement that one person had been taken to a hospital in critical condition but that there were no other injuries.

A video of the protest appeared to show police holding multiple people on the street near the Albuquerque Museum, where protesters were planning to remove a statue of Juan de Oñate from the corner of Mountain Road and 19th Street.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether they were under arrest or simply being detained. A local news station reported that they belonged to an armed “civil guard” group that is also known as NMCG.

Oñate No Vale Verga

Multiple officers in tactical gear could be seen surrounding the injured person before he was taken from the scene.

Another video from the station showed several people tugging on a chain that had been lassoed around the statue while chanting “tear it down.” At the end of the video, several shots can be heard, although it isn’t clear whether the sounds are gunfire.

Albuquerque police said the scene is under investigation.

Born in Zacatecas, Mexico, Juan de Oñate y Salazar (1550-1626) was a conquistador and explorer who also became the colonial governor of the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México in the viceroyalty of New Spain.

UPDATE: The man shot has been identified as Scott Williams. He was brought to the hospital and stabilized quickly. He is being represented by Laura Schauer Ives. The shooter is Steven Baca. After reviewing video footage, Bernalillo County District Attorney Raúl Torrez says Baca appears to have fired his gun in self-defense and thus an initial charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon has been dropped.