LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — State Police have released surveillance footage of last month’s fatal shooting on the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque that involved a basketball player from a rival school.
Rooftop parking lot video released Tuesday by police showed that three people approached New Mexico State University junior forward Mike Peake, 21, from behind and he was struck and shot before he started firing. The shooting killed Brandon Travis, 19.
New Mexico State University suspended Peake indefinitely from the team in connection with the Nov. 19 shooting, though he has not been charged. He was hospitalized after the shooting with a leg wound that has required several surgeries.
Travis died outside a University of New Mexico dormitory hours before the host Lobos were to play the Aggies. That game was canceled along with the Dec. 3 rematch in Las Cruces.
State Police investigators said Travis conspired with two other UNM students and a 17-year-old girl to lure Peake onto campus.
The video showed the three people coming up to Peake while his back was turned before one of them hit Peake in the legs with a baseball bat.
Peake also was shot in the left leg before the video showed him pulling out a gun and firing several shots at one of the men, according to police who said Travis was struck by four bullets.
The surveillance video also showed Peake hopping on his right leg and meeting up with three teammates in a car. Police said the men placed objects in the trunk of the vehicle before driving off and Peake’s gun appeared to be one of the items.
NMSU officials identified the players as junior forward Issa Muhammad, sophomore forward Marchelus Avery and sophomore guard Anthony Roy. None of them have faced charges tied to the case, but all three were suspended for one game and missed Wednesday night’s 66-65 road loss to Santa Clara.
A Las Cruces brawl at an Oct. 15 football game between the two universities was a precursor to the shooting, police said.
NMSU is hiring an outside investigator to compile a detailed report about the shooting, officials said. The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office is working with State Police on the case.
