In the late morning of March 23, 2023, a burst of violence in the south parking lot of the Animas Valley Mall in Farmington, New Mexico, tragically cut short the life of 18-year-old Ariana Rosas, a Hispanic female. Rosas was pronounced dead at the scene from gunshot wounds. She had been sitting in a vehicle with her 23-year-old boyfriend, Vincent Amato, who was also injured during the attack, suffering a gunshot wound to his arm and being pistol-whipped.
The shooting, which occurred around 11 a.m. near English Road, prompted a brief lockdown at a nearby high school as police descended on the area to investigate what they described as a targeted and isolated incident.
The investigation into the homicide led the Farmington Police Department to identify two persons of interest, Christian Morales and Samuel Brooks. Shortly after the shooting, both men were taken into custody on unrelated charges. According to Amato and Rosas's mother, Cassie Estrada, Morales was the man who shot Rosas. Amato stated that he and Rosas were at the mall to meet Brooks and Morales. He claimed the plan was to sell his remaining drugs to them so he and Rosas could leave Farmington and start a new life together.
According to Amato's account, Samuel Brooks directed him to park next to a specific vehicle. Soon after, he was struck in the face with a pistol. He said Rosas screamed and was shot when she tried to grab a gun. Amato recounted trying to perform CPR on Rosas before his own injuries and the chaos of the moment overcame him. He was then transported to San Juan Regional Medical Center for treatment. Despite the identification of persons of interest and the detailed accounts from the surviving victim, no arrests for the murder of Ariana Rosas had been made. The District Attorney's office cited "serious evidentiary problems" as a reason for not yet filing charges, leaving a family searching for justice.
