911 Calls Reveal Chaos Before UNM Dorm Shooting

News Desk

Albuquerque: Conflicting timelines and panicked 911 calls have emerged in the investigation of a deadly shooting at the University of New Mexico (UNM) that left a 14-year-old boy dead in a campus dorm room on July 25.

Authorities say John Fuentes, believed to be under the influence of drugs at the time, shot and killed 14-year-old Michael LaMotte inside a dormitory at Casas del Rio. But newly released 911 calls from Fuentes’ parents paint a chaotic and unclear picture of the hours leading up to the incident — and raise further questions about the police response.

In separate calls to emergency services, Fuentes’ mother, Tessa Cannon, and father, Joseph Fuentes, expressed fears for their son’s safety, saying he was hallucinating and unreachable. Cannon told a Valencia County dispatcher that her son had been on FaceTime with his brother, claiming he was atop a building and unable to breathe.

“He’s freaking out that something must have been laced,” Cannon said in the call. “I didn’t even know he was doing drugs, and no one knows where he’s at.”

When the dispatcher offered to file a missing person report, Cannon responded urgently: “It’s not about a missing person report. He’s on a building somewhere, he’s on drugs hallucinating right now, I need his location to be located by the phone.”

Joseph Fuentes also called 911, saying his son had dropped his phone off a building before giving his location. “He dropped his phone off the building. I think I can just see the sidewalk,” he told the operator.

Emergency services worked with Albuquerque Police Department (APD) and the phone company to track Fuentes’ phone, eventually pinging it to the UNM Technology and Education Center. Police located Fuentes later that day in Los Lunas, though the exact timing of the 911 calls remains unclear.

LaMotte’s family has since alleged that UNM police were slow to respond to the shooting. During a press conference last week, UNM Police Chief Joseph Silva stated that campus police responded “immediately” after receiving the call, though he declined to clarify which call that was or provide a timeline.

“The investigation is still currently being led by the New Mexico State Police,” Silva said. “Part of their comprehensive work includes establishing and verifying a detailed timeline of events, including the exact response times of all responding agencies.”

Further complicating the timeline is a discrepancy in Fuentes’ arrest warrant. It cites APD’s ShotSpotter system detecting gunshots in the dorm area after midnight. However, an APD spokesperson later said that claim is inaccurate. ShotSpotter, which detects outdoor gunfire using acoustic sensors, likely would not have picked up shots fired inside a dorm room.

Chief Silva also acknowledged communication gaps between APD and UNMPD regarding ShotSpotter alerts. “At this time when ShotSpotter activation is made, APD does not notify us directly. That’s something that we have to reach out for. But we’re working with them now to find a solution,” Silva said.

APD has maintained that had a ShotSpotter alert occurred near or on campus, they would have notified UNMPD. The origin of the ShotSpotter claim in the arrest warrant remains unclear.

As the New Mexico State Police continue to investigate, key questions remain unanswered — including the exact sequence of events leading to LaMotte’s death and the speed of the law enforcement response.