On October 7, 2023, at about 10:02 PM, 35-year-old Maharshi Bhakta was found near the door of a motel room at the Executive Inn in the 200 block of North Marland in Hobbs, New Mexico, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to Covenant Health Hobbs Hospital and later died of his injuries.

Surveillance video from the hotel shows an altercation between Bhakta and several male suspects who went in and out of an adjacent room. The footage depicts the suspects getting into a parked vehicle, returning to engage in a physical fight with Bhakta, then, after the fighting stopped, muzzle flashes are visible and the suspects flee. Witness statements say other suspects and two female witnesses identified 17-year-old Dominic Elijah Diaz as the shooter; one witness reported Diaz apologized and said he was drunk. Diaz, a Hobbs High School student, was arrested on October 9, 2023, and charged with first-degree murder, a capital felony under New Mexico law.

This was the second fatal shooting in Hobbs allegedly involving a teenager within two weeks, prompting local concern about youth violence. Does anyone have information about Bhakta’s movements that night or saw the incident at the motel?