Santa Fe police this afternoon apprehended Mario Guizar-Anchondo, 17, for his alleged involvement in a deadly altercation on Santa Fe’s Southside on Wednesday night. Ivan Perez, also 17 and a rising senior at Capital High School, was found dead in the parking lot of The Bluffs apartment complex.
An arrest warrant had been issued for Mario Guizar-Anchondo earlier in the day, who is charged with an open count of murder as well as attempted murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Police say he was arrested with help from the Santa Fe County sheriff’s department.
The department issued a news release around noon explaining Perez died from gunshot wounds to his chest and a second male in his late teens was also found with gunshot wounds in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Jaguar Drive. The second victim, who has not been identified, was transported to Christus St. Vincent Medical Center where he underwent surgery and is currently listed in stable condition, police say.
Police Capt. Anthony Tapia says Guizar-Anchondo, a Santa Fe resident “known to police” prior to this incident, was standing outside a vehicle when he fired the shots but the police are not sure what car he left in and can’t provide a description. The police also don’t know if he left the scene alone.
“Police interviewed a lot of people present but none are being looked at as suspects or persons of interest,” Tapia tells SFR. “There was a group of people together but we don’t know how they’re related.”
Sergio Perez, a 2020 Capital High School graduate, says Ivan is the second person in Sergio’s friend group to be killed in the last months, after Aiko Perez was stabbed to death in June.
The three Perezes are not from the same family, he says.
Sergio saw Ivan for the last time on July 14, when they spent some time together. Ivan did not live at The Bluffs, he says.
“All of us are really shook,” Perez tells SFR.
Santa Fe Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Veronica C. Garcia issued a statement this afternoon noting, “This tragedy leaves our district shaken. Our hearts are with Ivan’s loved ones, and with our students and staff in the wake of this act of violence in our community.”
Capital High Principal Jaime Holladay said the news saddened her: “Ivan was passionate about pursuing a career in music and will be fondly remembered by his smile and love of creating music.”
The SFPS Wellness Team is collaborating with Girard’s House and The Sky Center to provide free behavioral health support services for students and families.
Anyone with information related to this case is urged to contact Detective Blake Byford at 505-955-5225.
