Amber Renee Archuleta was 13 when she was fatally wounded after a single gunshot at a friend’s house in Questa, New Mexico. The shooting occurred on July 28, 2023; she was found by police on the Brown family’s back porch area and died the next day, July 29, 2023. Reports say the shot was fired by a 14-year-old boy who had obtained his father’s gun while four teenagers were at the home.

Initial panic led the group to move Amber’s body outdoors and to tell authorities a drive-by shooting had occurred before someone called 911. Investigators later arrested the 14-year-old on charges that included first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. The teenager’s father, William Brown, was also arrested and charged under a new New Mexico statute that makes negligently leaving a firearm accessible to a minor a felony when it results in death.

Amber was remembered locally as a talented artist who displayed work at the library, a self-taught guitarist and a devoted Denver Broncos fan. A public memorial was held at the high school gymnasium. If anyone has information about the events at the Brown residence that afternoon, please share what is known with investigators.