adamkaz/iStock(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) — A 21-year-old New Mexico woman was playing Pokemon Go with her boyfriend over the weekend when she was fatally shot after witnessing a robbery in progress, according to police.
Cayla Campos and her boyfriend, who police identified by his first name, Sidney, were driving near Bianchetti Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, late Friday night when they allegedly witnessed two armed robbers targeting someone in another vehicle, police said Monday.
Campos turned her car around and attempted to flee the scene, but the suspects spotted her and opened fire on her vehicle. She was struck by gunfire, causing her to crash into a nearby home, according to police. The suspects got away and there were no leads as of Monday night, police said.
Investigators with the Albuquerque Police Department issued a statement Monday asking for the public’s help in finding the shooters.
“The two vehicles involved were a red car (possibly a Ford Mustang) and a silver four door sedan,” the statement said. “APD is asking the victims of the ‘robbery’ or anyone else with information to please come forward. They can contact 242-COPS with information.”
People who knew Campos described her as a playful young woman who dreamed of becoming a dentist someday. Cody Bell, who called Campos his “closest friend,” said her death has devastated their community.
“She was just such an amazing person,” Bell told local station KRQE-TV. “I am really trying hard not to break down right now. … I feel like there is a piece of me that is missing now.”
“Just knowing that I am never going to see her again or talk to her. … I am just sorry that her life was taken away so soon,” he added.
Bell said Campos was a devoted Pokemon Go player who would always swing by the park to play before heading home at night.
“Her and her boyfriend always make a loop around this park before they go home and play Pokemon Go because their apartment is literally right there,” Bell said.
Other players of the popular game said the death has put the community on edge.
“It definitely makes me think twice about where and when I’m playing,” Kody Love, a fellow Pokemon Go player, told Albuquerque ABC affiliate KOAT-TV. “There’s a lot of rough neighborhoods and times you probably shouldn’t be out.”
Copyright © 2019, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.