A man is shot and wounded as tempers flare in New Mexico over the statue of a Spanish conquistador
A man is shot and wounded as tempers flare in New Mexico over the statue of a Spanish conquistador

By Morgan Lee THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ESPANOLA, N.M. (AP)- Chaos erupted Thursday as a gunshot rang out during a protest in northern New Mexico where officials had planned to install a statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de Onate, an event that county officials had already postponed anticipating that tempers would flare. One man was struck by the gunfire and rushed to the hospital as Rio Arriba County sheriff’s officials took the suspected shooter, 23-year-old Ryan Martinez, into custody. Authorities said they were not currently seeking any other suspects in connection with the shooting. Onate has been a controversial figure in New Mexico’s history for generations, with activists targeting the statue and other likenesses of the Spaniard for his oppressive and sometimes brutal treatment of Native Americans during his country’s conquest

The post A man is shot and wounded as tempers flare in New Mexico over the statue of a Spanish conquistador appeared first on The Turtle Island News.