Who is Enrique Padilla, Albuquerque movie theater shooting suspect?

After a fight between two couples about who should sit where at a movie theatre, a 52-year-old man was shot and killed. Enrique Padilla was charged on Monday in Metropolitan Court by detectives from the Albuquerque Police Department in relation to the shooting at the movie theatre complex near an interstate highway on Sunday evening.

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Who is Enrique Padilla?

Enrique Padilla is a 19-year-old teenager from New Mexico who got into a dispute over a movie theatre seat with a 52-year-old man. He was later found wounded, hiding behind a bush outside the NM theater. A gun was also found outside that was compatible with spent casings from the shooting.

Police were informed by witnesses that when Padilla and his girlfriend entered the theatre, they saw another couple using at least one of their reserved seats.

After being shot, 52-year-old Michael Tenorio passed away at the scene. Trina Tenorio, his wife, claimed he was unarmed. Tenorio and his wife had purchased tickets on either side of two seats with the intention of requesting a seat exchange so they could sit next to one another.

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Workers from the Century Rio movie reportedly attempted to step in, but after Tenorio shoved Padilla, he allegedly drew a gun and shot at Tenorio. An off-duty policeman who attended the movie claimed to have given Tenorio medical care.

The officer saw the altercation but did not see any weapons in the dim theatre, and he reported hearing a rapid-fire sequence of gunshots just before one of the men involved fled. Padilla reportedly fled with the terrified moviegoers, while his girlfriend began fighting Trina before fleeing.

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According to police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos, Padilla was receiving treatment for a gunshot wound at a hospital on Monday evening while under restraint. It isn’t known if Padilla had a lawyer who could speak for him.

Open counts of homicide, shooting at an occupied building, and tampering with evidence were stated against Padilla in a criminal complaint and arrest warrant. The complaint said that Padilla had an abdominal injury but provided no further details.