Alamogordo mayor says students gathering at Oregon Park 'problematic'

Alamogordo Mayor Susan Payne said Alamogordo Public Schools will not work with her nor other city officials to keep students in school and away from Oregon Park, where a Chaparral Middle School student was killed last week.

Eight grade student Jiyrese Collier was shot on Friday, Oct. 13, according to Alamogordo Police.

The alleged 17-year-old shooter was originally at Oregon Park to confront a group of teens who had allegedly "jumped" another student, the shooter's younger brother, on Oct. 11, according to a redacted police report provided to the Alamogordo Daily News.

More:Chaparral Middle school student fatally shot by 17-year-old in Oregon Park

Violent assault at Washington Park sparks shooting incident

On the evening of Oct. 11 Alamogordo Police Department officers were called to Washington Park located at 100 Washington Avenue by a woman who said her son had been assaulted by a group of teenagers.

According to the statement she gave Police Officer Collier Buffington, the boy was at the skate park when he was hit on the back of the head. The woman's name was part of the redacted information provided in police reports, as was the name of her young son, the alleged victim.

The boy could not identify his assailants, Buffington wrote in the report.

In the report issued by Buffington, Collier was not identified as an aggressor, but tried to prevent the boy from being harmed during the Washington Park fight.

Oregon Park shooting results in one death, one injury

Two days after the incident at Washington Park, on Oct. 13, Alamogordo Police Officer Chyenne Bunker, who also patrols Alamogordo High School, responded to Oregon Park where there was a report of gunfire.

Tularosa Basin Regional Dispatch Authority originally received reports from callers who heard up to three gunshots in the area.

Bunker was told by dispatchers, according to police documents, that there might be up to three children who were injured being taken to a local hospital.

Alamogordo Police Officer Agnieszka Escalante reported finding one child injured in the shooting "walking and crying from the direction of Oregon Park." That child was later reported as having been treated at Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center.

The names of underage children involved in the shooting or victims of the shooting were not released to the media. The Alamogordo Daily News does not publish the names of underage victims of violent crime.

The child allegedly told Escalante about the fight in Washington Park, and that Collier attempted to stop an alleged assault on another child, according to Escalante's report.

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"A juvenile witness, stated that the 17-year-old pulled up in his mother's unknown vehicle, and said 'why y'all beat up my brother?' As he clocked [sic] the gun inside his pocket," according to the police report of the incident.

That witness also said that another child tried to grab the gun held by the shooter and that was when the gun was fired hitting several of the kids present, according to the police report. Alamogordo Daily News was only able to confirm the shooting resulted in one injury and one death.

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Oregon Park known for attracting students during school hours

Bunker said in the report of the shooting that Oregon Park is "notorious" for attracting large crowds of students.

" … often there are large crowds of kids hanging out at the gazebo, bench area and it's the area that has fights and juvenile problems often," Bunker wrote in the incident report.

In the wake of the shooting, Payne said in a video posted to both her personal Facebook page and released on the City of Alamogordo's Facebook page, she attempted to work with Alamogordo Public School officials to find a solution to the number of students that gather at Oregon Park during and after school hours.

Payne said in the video that the gathering of children in the park has been a problem for years. The Alamogordo Daily News has asked Alamogordo Police Department for information about the extent of "problem" but did not receive a response by the publication of this article.

"As a professional courtesy, I have hesitated until now to comment on the situation and instead have waited to no avail for some kind of communication from the elected officials of APS and school board president Judy Rabon to assure me there is a plan going forward," Payne said.

Rabon did not respond to a request for comment by the Alamogordo Daily News following Payne's allegations.

Payne alleged she was "not allowed" to attend an Alamogordo Public School Board of Education meeting related to the incident. Alamogordo Daily News could not find a notice or agenda for the alleged meeting, which is required by New Mexico's Open Meeting Act, nor minutes; the Board of Education did meet on Oct. 18 for its regularly scheduled meeting but the agenda for that meeting did not contain any items related to discussion of the shooting.

"I have made the decision to take action and work with our acting city manager, our city attorney and our chief of police to begin to put together a plan that can be presented to the entire commission for approval and possible action moving forward," Payne said.

"The area in which this incident took place, has long been problematic for our city, our officers and the homeowners who live in the vicinity due to the large crowds of students who seem to congregate when they should be in school. This issue has gone one for many years and nothing has been done by APS to stop it."

Payne said she and Chief David Kunihiro of the Alamogordo Police are working toward a solution, but did not elaborate on what they may be.

The alleged shooter is being held at a juvenile detention center in Otero County on one charge of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder in the first-degree, tampering with evidence, larceny of a firearm and unlawful carrying of a person under 19 years of age.

Collier's family started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for funeral expenses.

Juan Corral can be reached at JCorral@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter at @Juan36Corr.