Benjamin Hernandez, a 20-year-old employee at a Sonic Drive-in in Las Cruces, New Mexico, was fatally shot on the evening of March 4, 2025. The shooting occurred at about 9:40 p.m. at the restaurant on Foothills Road. Emergency responders found Hernandez with at least one gunshot wound and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators say the shooting followed an argument or altercation inside the restaurant between Hernandez and another employee, 21-year-old Luciano Roman Valente Frias. During the dispute, Frias produced a handgun and fired at least one round that struck Hernandez. Frias then fled on foot and police described him as about 5 feet 5 inches tall and 130 pounds, asking anyone with information to contact them.

What details about that evening or the people involved might help explain how the argument escalated to deadly violence, and can anyone who was in the area that night add information?