New Mexico State University basketball player was targeted in NMU campus shooting, police say
By Kevin Dotson
New Mexico State University basketball player Mike Peake was identified as the student who was wounded in a fatal shooting on the University of New Mexico campus over the weekend, according to NMSU.
New Mexico State Police said in a news release that Peake was targeted by Brandon Travis, a 19-year-old UNM student, who was killed after exchanging gunfire with Peake.
The confrontation on UNM’s main campus in Albuquerque occurred around 3 a.m. Saturday morning, according to police. Travis was pronounced dead at the scene. Peake was hospitalized, but he is expected to recover, NMSU Associate Vice President Justin Bannister told CNN.
New Mexico State Police allege that Travis had conspired with a 17-year-old female and two of his male friends, all UNM students, to lure Peake to the UNM campus and assault him.
Travis confronted and shot Peake, according to police, and Peake, who was also armed, shot Travis, while the female and the other two males fled the scene.
After the shooting, Peake called some of his teammates, who notified members of the basketball coaching staff, according to NMSU. The basketball game between the two schools scheduled for Saturday night was postponed as a result of the shooting.
The female suspect was later arrested and booked into the juvenile detention center, where she is charged with aggravated battery and conspiracy, police announced. Her name was not released. The other two males have been identified, and the police department says its working with the district attorney to determine what charges they might face.
Peake has not been charged following the shooting.
The female suspect told investigators that Travis said he wanted to “jump” Peake because they both had been previously involved in a fight at NMSU’s football game against UNM in October. NMSU says it is aware of fights that occurred at that game, and the incidents were referred to the Dean of Students Office for further inquiry.
According to information provided by NMSU, the student code of conduct prohibits “possession, use or distribution of any weapon on university property or at a sponsored university activity.” The school says it had not previously checked student athletes’ bags before they get on the team bus, but they will be checked going forward.
A police spokesperson told CNN the investigation into the incident is ongoing and is being led by the New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau. New Mexico State Police Crime Scene Team and the University of New Mexico Police Department are assisting the investigation.
Bannister says the NMSU Aggies plan to resume their basketball season Friday at the Las Vegas Holiday Classic tournament in Nevada.
The-CNN-Wire
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