A dispute that began inside the Blitz Sports Bar on East Idaho Avenue in Las Cruces on the evening of September 29, 2023, ended in the shooting death of 42-year-old Hispanic male Tony Perez. Perez and a 41-year-old motorcyclist first clashed inside the bar; both left separately, Perez in a Lincoln Town Car with a friend and the other man on a blue Harley-Davidson with his wife following in another vehicle. Witnesses later told police the two men encountered each other again at Idaho Avenue and South Main Street, where Perez reportedly struck the motorcyclist multiple times with a baton and the motorcyclist then drew a handgun and fired, fatally wounding Perez.

Perez and his friend fled but flagged down a police officer on Wyatt Drive; first responders arrived and Perez was pronounced dead at the scene. Shortly after the shooting the motorcyclist was struck in a hit-and-run by a dark-colored sedan driving the wrong way on Idaho Avenue; he suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was hospitalized. The Las Cruces Police Department said the shootings and the hit-and-run were under investigation, no arrests or charges had been announced, and the motorcyclist’s identity had not been released.

If anyone witnessed the altercation, the shooting, or the hit-and-run, please share what was seen with investigators.