Melky Rodriguez, a 15-year-old male of Hispanic/Latino ethnicity, was shot and killed on November 19, 2014, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Police identified him soon after the incident and said he and a 16-year-old friend had been handling a handgun when it went off. Investigators said the gun had been taken from a car earlier, and while the teens were “playing” with it, the friend believed the safety was engaged before pulling the trigger.
Detectives described the shooting as accidental, and authorities indicated that no one was charged in connection with Rodriguez’s death. Public incident records that catalog U.S. shootings also list the case as an accidental/negligent discharge resulting in a teen’s death, aligning with the police account. Memorial listings created afterward mark the date and location of the killing and point back to the local reporting that first laid out the circumstances.
