Former city council candidate, 31, 'shot protester leaving him in critical condition' during clashes between armed militia and demonstrators trying to tear down statue of conquistador in New Mexico
A former city council candidate shot a protester leaving him in critical condition during clashes between armed militia and demonstrators in New Mexico, police say.
Officers in Albuquerque said on Tuesday they arrested Steven Baca, 31, and charged him with shooting and critically wounding Scott Williams on Monday night.
Williams had been seeking the removal of a statue of a Spanish conquistador. He was shot several times in the torso, police said.
Baca was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to a criminal complaint. He was not immediately available for comment.
It was not clear whether he was a member of the New Mexico Civil Guard militia who tried to protect the statue as protesters attempted to pull it down.
Phone videos showed Baca pushing back protesters in front of the statue and throwing down a woman before backing away and using pepper spray against oncoming demonstrators.
Baca scuffled with protesters and was hit with a skateboard before he drew a gun and fired, the complaint said.
Police said 31-year-old Stephen Ray Baca was arrested on suspicion of aggravated battery in the Monday shooting that critically wounded a man
A protestor holds a knife to a statue of Juan de Onate in the La Jornada sculpture Monday
A man lays in the middle of Mountain Road and 20th Street after been shot by a member of the New Mexico Civl Guard while demonstrators try to take down the statue of Don Juan de Onate Statue in Old Town during a protest
'The heavily armed individuals who flaunted themselves at the protest, calling themselves a 'civil guard,' were there for one reason: To menace protesters, to present an unsanctioned show of unregulated force,' New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement.
Baca, son of a former Bernalillo County sheriff, ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2019, calling city leadership soft on crime and criticizing terms of a federal agreement imposing restrictions on law enforcement.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said the city would remove the sculpture of Juan de Oñate for 'public safety' after another statute of the colonial governor was taken down on Monday in Alcalde, New Mexico.
Oñate is seen by some as a hero who led the Spanish colonization of New Mexico and reviled by others for enslaving the ancestors of Native Americans and ordering that men who survived an uprising at Acoma Pueblo have one foot cut off.
The protest outside the Albuquerque Museum began peacefully before activists took a pickaxe to the 'La Jornada' sculpture. Members of the heavily armed New Mexico Civil Guard then stepped in to protect the statue of Juan de Oñate.
Steven Baca is taken into custody by APD officers after police say he fired shots and wounded a man as the crowd tried to take down the statue of Don Juan de Onate Statue
Attendees help a man who was shot and wounded during clashes between protesters trying to pull down a statue of Juan de Onate and armed members of civilian militia group New Mexico Civil Guard in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque police detain members of the New Mexico Civil Guard, an armed civilian group, following the shooting of a man during a protest over a statue of Spanish explorer on Monday
Video footage posted to social media from the scene appeared to show one man lying on the ground as several other people tried to render assistance.
One EMT worker who was acting as a medic at the protest said he was the first to approach the victim.
Gov. Grisham said: 'Although we are still learning more about the situation, I am horrified and disgusted beyond words by the reports of violence at a protest Monday night in Albuquerque.
'The heavily armed individuals who flaunted themselves at the protest, calling themselves a 'civil guard,' were there for one reason: To menace protesters, to present an unsanctioned show of unregulated force.
'To menace the people of New Mexico with weaponry - with an implicit threat of violence - is on its face unacceptable; that violence did indeed occur is unspeakable.'
Mayor Tim Keller tweeted that the statue would be removed 'until the appropriate civic institutions can determine next steps.'
Protesters attach a chain to a statue of Spanish conquerer Juan de Onate in downtown Albuquerque on Monday night
Demonstrators start to run away from the scene as they hear gunshots ringing out on Monday night
Demonstrators try to pull down the statue Monday just moments before the shooting erupted
He wrote: 'The shooting tonight was a tragic, outrageous and unacceptable act of violence and it has no place in our city. Our diverse community will not be deterred by acts meant to divide or silence us.'
Several hours before the shooting erupted around 300 demonstrators had gathered in Tiguex Park at around 6pm to listen to speeches by indigenous activists.
Afterwards the protesters marched towards the statue in front of the museum where the face off with the militia started.
People clambered onto the statue and began chanting for its removal, but it wasn't until a pickaxe was unleashed on the sculpture that the militia stepped in, the Journal reported.
Albuquerque police detain members of the New Mexico Civil Guard, an armed civilian group, Monday
Demonstrators climb the statue of Juan de Onate in Old Town while armed members of the New Mexico Civil Guard stands by during a protest
Demonstrators attacking the controversial sculpture Monday. In 1599, Oñate condemned the Acoma for their 'uprising' and ordered the destruction of their settlement. During the ensuing siege, known as the Acoma Massacre, an estimated 800-1,000 Acoma were killed
Protesters haul on the sculpture with a chain while a pickaxe is taken to the base of the statue
Around ten minutes later the friction escalated into the brawl which then led to gunfire. The crowd quickly dispersed thereafter as heavily armed police officers detained people at the scene.
Officers were seen taking around six men dressed in military uniforms into custody.
Anti-racism protesters venting anger over last month's death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis, have taken to destroying statutes honoring the U.S. Civil War's Confederacy.
Sculptures of imperialists, conquistadors and other historical figures associated with subjugation of indigenous populations around the world have also been targeted.
Former city council candidate, 31, 'shot protester leaving him in critical condition' during clashes between armed militia and demonstrators trying to tear down statue of conquistador in New Mexico
![Former city council candidate, 31, 'shot protester leaving him in critical condition' during clashes between armed militia and demonstrators trying to tear down statue of conquistador in New Mexico]()
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June 17, 2020
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