By Andrew Hay
(Reuters) – A man was shot on Thursday in New Mexico on the site where authorities planned to reinstall a statue of a Spanish conquistador who brutally colonized the U.S. state, a witness and police reported, adding a suspect was in custody.
The shooting took place around noon at the Rio Arriba County building in Espanola after a scuffle between protesters and a counter protestor, said Mateo Peixinho, an organizer at the protest against the statue.
A man identified as Ryan Martinez was taken into custody as the suspected shooter, Rio Arriba County sheriff’s Sergeant Chris Gurule told the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper.
A Native American man from Seattle, Washington, was shot, according to Peixinho. The victim was in stable condition after being airlifted to University of New Mexico hospital, Albuquerque where he was having a bullet removed from his chest, said Christina Castro an organizer at the rally opposing the statue.
New Mexico State Police confirmed the victim was transported to an area hospital.
The county halted the reinstallation of 16th-century Spanish conquistador Juan de Onate’s statue planned for Thursday after protests over the return of the bronze figure, removed three years ago during nationwide anti-racism demonstrations.
Peixinho said he spoke to Martinez, the alleged shooter, before the incident and he said the man was unhappy authorities had not reinstalled the statue.
Martinez was one of a number of counter protesters wearing a “Make America Great Again” hats, according to Peixinho.
The Santa Fe New Mexican showed a picture of a man at the protest it identified as Martinez wearing a red MAGA hat.
Onate is known for the 1599 massacre of a pueblo tribe, leading a group of Spanish settlers into what is now New Mexico.
(Reporting By Andrew Hay; Editing by Josie Kao)
