BREAKING: Suspect in Saturday’s mass shooting arrested, appears in court
EDITOR'S NOTE (5/18): The 19-year-old suspect who was also arrested was not formally charged Thursday in court. We will no longer be identifying him.
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Yuma Police confirmed two young men are now behind bars in connection to the shooting that happened at a local house party.
One of those men is now facing two charges of first-degree murder after police found him in a home near Cibola High School.
The Yuma Police Department (YPD) served a search warrant near West 19th Place and 47th Drive where they arrested 18-year-old Jose Lopez in connection with Saturday night's mass shooting.
A major update from YPD confirms two suspects tied to the Yuma mass shooting were arrested Monday, May 15 after 7 p.m.
Police say they searched the suspect's house finding additional evidence that led to the arrest of 18-year-old Jose Lopez for first-degree murder and disorderly conduct with a weapon.
Lopez appeared in court for the first time Tuesday afternoon.
“The allegations brought by the arresting officer include count one, murder in the first degree, count two, disorderly conduct involving a weapon or an instrument, count three, murder in the first degree. Each felony allegation. At this stage you’ll be ordered held in custody, no bond, no release," stated Judge Gregory Stewart from the Yuma County Justice Court, Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1.
In addition, YPD arrested a 19-year-old man for filing a false report and disorderly conduct with a weapon.
This after seven people were shot at a house party Saturday night just before 11 p.m., with two victims dead.
Twenty-year-old Ande Blackthunder and 19-year-old Danny Garcia.
Two other victims are in stable condition at a Phoenix hospital.
While the three other victims were released from Yuma Regional Medical Center on Sunday.
The shooting happened on South J Edward Drive, at a house in the Belleza neighborhood off of Avenue 5 and 1/2 E.
Samantha Byrd spoke to the homeowner who says one of his relatives hosted the party while he was out of town
“It’s unfortunate that this happened, and it’s unfortunate that it happened in this neighborhood and in my backyard," stated Jerry Gallardo, homeowner of the house party location.
He says he was at Rocky Point when he got the call.
“I heard it wasn’t good so we went ahead and we didn’t think twice about it, we packed up, it was late at night, 12, 12:30, we packed it up and hit the road," said Gallardo.
Then he started to panic.
“Turning the corner and seeing all the heavy cop activity and caution tape, there’s no words for that,” expressed Gallardo.
Saying one thing that really upset him is he did not have control over any of it.
“This was not the intention of my relative, for all this to happen, so the relative is not in a good place right now," explained Gallardo.
Gallardo says he wants to express his condolences to the families of Ande and Danny.
“I cannot imagine what you guys are going through as a mother, as a father, as a brother, as a sister, I can’t imagine and there’s no words but all I do want to say is I do apologize for everything that has happened," said Gallardo.
The investigation is ongoing.
If anyone has any information on the case, call YPD at (928) 373-4700 or 78-CRIME at (928) 782-7463 to remain anonymous. If the information leads to an arrest, anyone can receive a $1,000 cash reward.
