ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (THECOUNT) — Elaina Gomez-Villeda, 40, was arrested and charged with murder after a 10-year-old boy fatally shot 16-year-old Keinerlein Rangel during a dispute between neighbors Saturday in Albuquerque. Police allege Gomez-Villeda directed her son to retrieve the handgun used in the shooting.
The confrontation began during a dispute over loud music between Gomez-Villeda and Keinerlein’s mother, Susana Rangel, police said.
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Gomez-Villeda faces an open count of murder and several additional charges in connection with Keinerlein’s death. Police said the shooting followed a dispute over loud music at an apartment complex in the 200 block of Tennessee Street, north of Central Avenue.
According to police, Gomez-Villeda became involved in a physical altercation with Susana Rangel. Keinerlein attempted to intervene, and investigators said Gomez-Villeda began hitting the teenager. Gomez-Villeda’s son also tried to intervene before his mother allegedly instructed him to go inside their apartment and retrieve her handgun.
The boy returned outside with the firearm and fired one shot, striking Keinerlein and killing her, police said. Gomez-Villeda then took her son back inside the apartment and closed the door.
Gomez-Villeda later told detectives she texted her husband, “I’m probably going to jail right now,” before calling 911 to report the incident. She told investigators that her neighbors had attacked her after she complained about the loud music.
Police said Keinerlein’s father arrived after the shooting and learned from his wife that their daughter had been shot. Gomez-Villeda told detectives the man tried to pull open her apartment door and broke a window while she was speaking with 911. She said she grabbed a firearm and fired at him to make him leave.
When Albuquerque police officers arrived shortly after 4 p.m., they saw someone fire a gun from inside the apartment. Officers took cover as three people exited the residence, followed by Gomez-Villeda, who was carrying a handgun. One officer fired toward her, but the rounds struck a pillar, police said.
The 10-year-old boy has not been identified because he has not been charged. Detectives are working with the District Attorney’s Office and state officials to determine whether criminal charges are appropriate given his age.
Gomez-Villeda was 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 the firearm.
Homicide detectives are continuing to investigate Keinerlein’s death. A separate Multi-Agency Task Force investigation is examining the officer-involved shooting.
The shooting occurred in the 200 block of Tennessee Street in northeast Albuquerque, north of Central Avenue, in Bernalillo County. The map below identifies the reported block, not a verified apartment or exact shooting location.
Google Maps: Approximate location of the 200 block of Tennessee Street, Albuquerque
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