Woman shot in neck by stepson at graduation party, police say

A 21-year-old man was arrested for shooting his stepmother during a charter school graduation ceremony, police in Albuquerque, New Mexico, said.

The shooting happened just after 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Albuquerque Convention Center. police said They were called to the venue where there was initially a report of an active shooter, but when officers arrived they “discovered it was a single shot fired by an individual.”

A woman was injured and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Cristian Bencomo, 21, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, aggravated assault and two counts of unlawfully carrying a deadly weapon, online jail records show. It is not clear whether he has hired a lawyer.

Police said a graduation ceremony is being held for Southwest Secondary Learning Center. The stepmother attended her son’s graduation ceremony. When her stepson arrived, she began hugging him, at which point he allegedly pulled out a gun and shot her in the neck, authorities said.

“As you can imagine, there was great chaos at the time. It will take a while for investigators to locate potential witnesses,” police said at a news conference.

A motive for the shooting remains unclear.