Two Navajo men were killed in a lot near the intersection of 60th and Central NW in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Image from Google Maps
Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly will meet with the mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico, today to discuss the brutal murders of two tribal members. Shelly said he was “appalled” by the attacks on Allison Gorman, 44, and Kee Thompson, who was 45 or 46, both of whom were from the New Mexico portion of the Navajo Nation. The men were killed as they slept in a lot on the city's west side. Gorman and Thompson were clients of the Albuquerque Indian Center. The executive director said attacks on Native Americans are common in the city. “It’s a total shock, but not a surprise because it happens to them all the time – not to the point of getting killed in such a violent way – but every day we hear about clients who get assaulted, hit by cars, which is often alcohol related, or thrown out of local businesses,” Mary Garcia told The Albuquerque Journal. Other Navajo tribal members said Native people are singled out for attacks, whether they are homeless or not. Native Americans make up about 4.6 percent of the city's population and the city is close to several reservations, including a Navajo community that's detached from the main reservation. "I know a lot of Native Americans in Albuquerque and they tell me there’s a lot of violence toward them. I’ve seen it myself,” Margaret Tsosie, a Navajo woman who works at the center, told the Journal. Attacks on Navajo tribal members often occur in other border towns. The Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission is looking into incidents in 2009 and 2012 that occurred in Grants and Cuba, both in New Mexico. In Farmington, three Navajo men were brutally murdered in 1974 by three teens. Another vicious attack on a Navajo man took place in 2006 -- the assailants were also young males. In Albuquerque, three teens are accused of murdering Gorman and Thompson. Alez Rios, 18, Nathaniel Carrillo, 16, and Gilbert Tafoya, 15, face open charges of murder, tampering with evidence, three counts aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and robbery. Authorities said the teens beat Gorman and Thompson so bad that their bodies were unrecognizable. Carrillo and Tafoya lived in a house adjacent to the lot where the men were killed and other Navajo tribal members said they often targeted homeless people. Get the Story:
Native Americans: Beatings occur all the time (The Albuquerque Journal 7/24)
Teenage attacker to homeless victims: ‘Eat mud’ (The Albuquerque Journal 7/24)
Old emotions stirred for people who remember 40-year-old crime (KOB 7/23)
Navajo leader, mayor to meet on homeless killings (AP 7/23)
Mayor Berry to meet with Navajo Nation leaders (KRQE 7/23)
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Teens accused of killing homeless Navajo men in New Mexico (7/21)
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