On the afternoon of March 6, 2021, 11-year-old Joseph Ray Hobbs was shot and killed in the front yard of a friend’s home in the Monterey Park neighborhood of Los Lunas, New Mexico. Joseph, who loved science, rocks and collecting crystals and aspired to be a rockologist, was struck in the neck during a shooting that followed an earlier confrontation at the residence. Deputies responded to multiple 911 calls about a disturbance around 3 p.m., and Joseph died at the scene. Investigators determined the child was not the intended target.

The Valencia County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the New Mexico State Police, identified and arrested three suspects: Alexandria Tabora, 41, was arrested March 7, 2021, on a felony murder charge; her son Santos Mateo Garcia, 21, and Erik Carillo-Garcia, 24, were arrested March 8, 2021, in the Las Maravillas subdivision, and several firearms were recovered. Joseph’s school held a rock garden memorial and the community held a candlelight vigil.