Police continue to investigate deadly house party shooting

Tamara Lopez | KOB

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Instead of wrapping gifts for their beloved daughter, the family of 18-year-old Jada Gonzales is now planning her funeral. 

She was hit with a single bullet at a house party on Albuquerque’s West Side. It’s a type of trauma that sadly way too parents in the metro have had to endure. 

KOB 4 spoke with a forensic psychologist who says regardless of your age, if you go through something as tragic as losing someone to gun violence, you may be affected for a very long time. 

“This is a parent who will have a hole in their life till they leave this Earth,” said Dr. Jeffrey N. Younggren, a clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UNM.

We spoke to Younggren following the deadly shooting that killed a bright teen in the community.

18-year-old Jada Gonzales was killed after getting caught in the crossfire of a shooting at a house party over the weekend. Remnants of the party where it happened are still everywhere. 

Neighbors say the party was in a new house, and it was put on by the builders — although police have not confirmed that.

One neighbor told us she saw people running away from the house into her backyard after the gunshots.

This kind of violence is something our community experiences far too often. So much so, that Younggren says children today seem numb to it.

“They are desensitized to this and have a perception of dangerousness that’s different, and I think they have an approach to conflict resolution that didn’t exist 30 years ago,” said Younggren.

Albuquerque police say they’re still investigating the shooting, and no one has been arrested. They say there are still a lot of unanswered questions. 

But, one thing is clear, anyone who witnesses this type of violence can be affected.  

“There are those who can weather very traumatic experiences, and while they remember them, they don’t impact their lives. And there are those who are more vulnerable, and these kinds of things become nightmares for them forever,” Younggren said. 

Younggren says sadly, for Gonzales’s family this nightmare is just beginning.

“Really being realistic about this parent doesn’t get over the loss of an 18 year old who has a full ride scholarship and a major university, was graduating from one of our premier schools. That I that void will never be filled.”

KOB 4 reached out to APD for more information, including who threw the house party, but we didn’t hear back. 

Younggren stressed that no one should ever feel embarrassed about reaching out for help after any type of traumatic experience. 

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