On March 16, 2022, 18-year-old Bayard resident Jerimiah Choppy Mohr died after an exchange of gunfire on Silver Heights Boulevard near Bennett Street in Silver City, New Mexico. Two vehicles were involved, a gold Dodge Intrepid and a brown Chevy F10 pickup. Mohr was a passenger in the Intrepid, was critically wounded, and died while being airlifted to a regional trauma center. Two other people in the Intrepid suffered non-life-threatening shrapnel injuries.

Thirty-one-year-old Joseph Trujillo of Bayard was taken into custody shortly after the shooting. He reportedly entered a nearby hair salon after the incident, left behind a .40 caliber KAHR ARMS handgun, and awaited law enforcement. Authorities also recovered an M&P .22 caliber rifle at the scene. Trujillo was charged with an open count of murder and four counts of shooting at or from a motor vehicle and was being held at the Grant County Detention Center.

Investigators say tensions between Trujillo and the Mohr family had been rising before the shooting. On February 14, 2022, Trujillo’s mother reported to then-Bayard Police Chief Cornel Stemley that her son’s life had been threatened by members of the Mohr family; further follow-up was hindered when the chief was placed on administrative leave that day. Mohr was remembered for his music, collaborations with his twin brother and cousins, and his work with children. Does anyone who knew Jerimiah or witnessed the March 16 shooting have information to share?