APD arrests mother for shooting death of 2-year-old son (2025)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.(KRQE) – Albuquerque Police announced Monday that they arrested a mother for the shooting death of her two-year-old son.

Amillia Garcia, 20, told detectives she was in another room at a southeast Albuquerque apartment when she heard a loud bang. She went into the living room and discovered her son with a gunshot wound. A handgun with an extended magazine was near his body, police said.

Garcia said she picked up her son and carried him upstairs, where other adults who lived in the apartment were staying.

Angelica Lucero, 24, who was living in the apartment, told other individuals to leave with the gun used in the shooting. She then called 911 and said the boy was accidentally shot, according to a news release from APD.

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“It’s disappointing that individuals, after knowing a child had lost their life, would go to the extremes as occurred yesterday and remove firearms and evidence from the scene,” said APD Police Chief Harold Medina.

Officers responded to an apartment on Buena Vista Drive SE near Gibson and Yale around 3 p.m. Sunday. The officers attempted CPR on the child, who had a gunshot wound to the chest, but he died at the scene.

Officers detained Garcia, who also had a one-year-old son with her at the apartment, and Lucero, who later admitted to telling two people, including her boyfriend, Angel Cordova, to leave the apartment because he was on probation.

Police said Cordova later returned to the apartment with a bag that contained two firearms, including the gun believed to have been discharged, police said. On Monday, Chief Medina said a total of six firearms were recovered from the scene.

During an interview with detectives, Garcia said the handgun belonged to her and that she left the gun in a handbag on the couch in the living room. She said she purchased it on the “streets” for protection because of prior domestic disputes with a family member.

Garcia is charged with child abuse resulting in death and tampering with evidence. On Monday, Chief Medina said she might also be charged under Bennie’s Law.

“I don’t feel like there’s any reason why we can’t charge Bennie’s law under this, it requires parents to secure their firearms, that is why we passed that legislation,” said Chief Medina.

“I mean, I think we could all sit here and really think about it and say, ‘What possessed you to leave an unsecured firearm in the presence of somebody so innocent and so young that they could injure themselves and in this case, kill themselves,” said Chief Medina.

Lucero was charged with tampering with evidence; Cordova, 25, was charged with tampering with evidence and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Medina said ATF is taking over Cordova’s case, and he will be federally charged. Another individual who was at the apartment, Angel Morales, 22, was charged with two counts of tampering with evidence.

The one-year-old wasn’t hurt. CYFD says they have been placed in the care of a family member.

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APD arrests mother for shooting death of 2-year-old son (2025)

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