A man has been arrested for fatally shooting two workers at a New Mexico auto parts store in a dispute about free oil containers, police say.
On Sunday evening, Bernalillo County Sheriff’s deputies raced over to an O’Reilly Auto Parts store in Albuquerque following reports of a shooting, authorities said in a Facebook post.
Police found two employees, Richard Newman, 47, and Jesus Valdez, 18, who had been shot.
One of the men died at the store and the other was taken to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries. The sheriff’s office did not specify which man died where.
Local outlet KOB 4 said the man who died at the store was found in the parking lot, and police discovered the other man inside the store with a gunshot wound to the back.
The authorities “quickly located and detained” 27-year-old Ismael Rene Tena. He has been charged with two counts of murder.
KOB 4 reported the shooting was over free oil containers Tena said he was supposed to get from the store.
Tena told police he and his dad went to the store to exchange a wrong oil filter and get two free oil containers because of the error. KOB 4 said Tena grabbed the oil containers from the store and walked out after the workers didn’t give them the items.
Police said, per KOB 4, employees followed Tena out of the store, and a fight broke out. Tena said the workers punched him several times, but authorities didn’t see any evidence backing his claim, according to the outlet.
Investigators had learned about a man who called the police about being “scared for his life” after two O’Reilly Auto Parts workers came after him, KOB 4 reported. The man had given a similar name to Tena, per the outlet.
Police were able to nab Tena after they pulled him over and found a handgun holster in his truck, according to KOB 4.
