Teenager accused of gunning down man in strip club in Downtown Albuquerque

Gregory Hasman, Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
·2 min read

Dec. 19—A 16-year-old boy allegedly fatally shot a man — continuing to fire even as the man begged him to stop — during a fight early Tuesday morning inside a strip club in Downtown Albuquerque.

Louis Mugishawimana is charged with an open count of murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, shooting at an occupied building, unlawful possession of a handgun and concealing his identity.

Mugishawimana is being held at the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center. It is unknown if he has an attorney.

Mugishawimana told police he shot the man in self-defense, according to court records.

Witnesses told police the teen kept shooting after the man fell to the ground, emptying an extended magazine in the process.

Police responded around 1:30 a.m. to a shooting at the Knockouts strip club on Central, near Third.

When they arrived, officers were told by two men that the man who had been shot was going to die.

The man was lying down in front of the business with a gunshot wound to the chest and he died at the scene, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. Inside the club was Mugishawimana, who told officers he shot the victim in self-defense.

Police said witnesses, including a security guard, told them the incident started as a fight between several men near the bar before Mugishawimana pulled out a gun with an extended magazine. The man who was shot tried to run and fell to the ground.

Witnesses told police Mugishawimana got to within a foot or two of the man, who was begging him to stop shooting, and shot him multiple times, according to the complaint. Witnesses told police that Mugishawimana then tried to run when two people held him down and took his gun.

Police said after Mugishawimana told officers he acted in self-defense, he declined to answer further questions and asked for a lawyer.

Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said detectives had to get a DNA search warrant to identify Mugishawimana after he concealed his identity.