Pubdate: Tue, 19 Jun 2001
Source: Albuquerque Tribune (NM)
Copyright: 2001 The Albuquerque Tribune
Contact:  http://www.abqtrib.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/11
Author: Joline Gutierrez Krueger

KILLERS OF 2-YEAR-OLD MIGHT HAVE HAD WRONG HOUSE, POLICE SAY

The barrage of bullets that killed a 2-year-old girl and wounded her mother 
and sister were never intended for them, Albuquerque police say.

And that, they said, makes an already senseless crime all the worse.

Police say Monday night's shooting in the 400 block of 11th Street 
Southwest is drug- and gang-related, but the family of five who resided in 
the duplex have no connection to either.

"These were absolutely victims," Albuquerque Police Chief Gerald Galvin 
said at a news conference today. "This is not a drug house."

Gunfire, possibly from a 9 mm weapon, broke through the large window of the 
family's living room about 10:30 p.m. Monday. At least one bullet pierced 
the upper torso of the toddler, identified as Joslin Cisneros, killing her 
almost instantly, Galvin said.

Another sister, Jazmine Cisneros, 13, was struck in the forearm, he said. 
The girls' mother, Margarita Bustos, was also hit, possibly by bullet 
fragments, in the chest, he said.

Both mother and the surviving sister were listed in stable condition at 
University of New Mexico Hospital, he said.

The three were in the living room at the time of the shooting. Hector 
Cisneros, the father, and the family's 8-year-old son were in the kitchen 
when the shooting occurred; neither of them was injured, Galvin said.

The incident was initially described as a drive-by shooting, but police now 
believe that the suspect or suspects fired while on foot, Albuquerque 
police Capt. Rob DeBuck said.

Police are looking for a 1997 or 1998 blue Chevy Suburban with gold- 
colored wheels in connection with the shooting.

The shooting may have been the result of an earlier confrontation between 
the residents of the northern portion of the duplex, Albuquerque police 
Sgt. Carlos Argueta said.

The design of the small duplex may have confused the shooters into thinking 
that the dwelling was actually one home, he said.

Neighbors in the community, known as the Raynolds Addition, told police the 
sound of gunfire at night is so common that they pay little attention to 
it, Argueta said.

One neighbor said she called police about five hours before the shooting to 
complain about drug dealings in an alley just north of the duplex.

Neighbors also said that they have complained about the duplex and another 
one similar to it in the same block, saying drugs, weapons and domestic 
violence there are disrupting what they said is an otherwise peaceful 
neighborhood.

Police are asking the public for help in solving the case.

"We've got to find who did such a crime," Argueta said. "A child is dead. 
That hits pretty close to home."

Anyone with information is asked to call Albuquerque police at 242- COPS 
or, to remain anonymous, Albuquerque Crimestoppers at 843- STOP.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens