On the night of March 25, 2022, 28-year-old Kayla Montano was shot and killed while sitting in a family vehicle at a Maverik gas station on Comanche and I-25 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Kayla, her fiancé, their seven-year-old daughter, Kayla’s brother and his girlfriend had stopped for gas on the way to Top Golf when unknown assailants opened fire on their SUV. Kayla’s fiancé suffered a graze wound to the forehead and the child was seated in the backseat during the shooting.

Police say the attack was an ambush and later described it as a case of mistaken identity linked to a stolen phone earlier that evening. Investigators identified a group of teenagers as suspects: Diamond Salazar, 19, and four minors named Capri Sicilia, Ty Gyos, Estean Lucero and Adam Sado. Court filings and police statements allege Salazar mistakenly identified the family’s black SUV as the one involved in the theft and recruited the others to shoot at the vehicle.

Kayla’s life was cut short on what was meant to be a family outing. If anyone has information about the shooting or the events that evening, please come forward.