Shots were fired about a quarter mile away from Red Rock Park, 825 Outlaw Rd. in Church Rock during the Gallup InterTribal Ceremonial celebration
Law enforcement officers arrived at the scene during the evening of Aug. 11 after reports came in about shots being fired in the area. The Navajo Police and the McKinley County Sheriff’s deputies detained two suspects at a nearby residence. No injuries were reported.
The Navajo Police later confirmed that the incident involved two individuals who reportedly shot a firearm over a quarter mile west of the park on tribal land.
Based on evidence found at the scene, the individuals were target shooting on their property. The Navajo Police are investigating whether that activity was lawful or not.
Deputies were reportedly already at the west end of the park when the shooting occurred, and they suspected the shots were coming from outside the park.
Ed Zirkle, a photojournalist from Ohio, was visiting Gallup for the Gallup InterTribal Indian Ceremonial, and he was getting out of his car and walking into the park when the shots began.
“… It sounded like fireworks or gunfire, and I was thinking it was probably the entertainment, until I walked up to the front [entrance] and one of the security guys looked at me and said, ‘Well, you know what that is.’ …[Being] a photojournalist for over 50 years, I turned and went toward the gunfire,” Zirkle said.
The Gallup InterTribal Indian Ceremonial events that were scheduled for the rest of the night were canceled, but the Aug. 12 events went on as planned.
Staff Reports
