Police ID victim in fatal downtown shooting as tattoo shop owner
Nov 14, 2024
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The owner of a well-known tattoo shop in downtown Albuquerque was shot and killed Thursday morning. APD has identified the victim as John "Bale" Sisneros, owner of Por Vida Tattoo.
According to APD, officers responded around 8:30 a.m. to Por Vida Tattoo near Fourth Street and Coal Ave. where they say the owner was shot to death inside the business. "We don't have any kind of suspect information and we just have a lot of people who have come to the scene. So detectives are trying to figure all that out," said Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque police spokesman.
Currently, detectives are requesting assistance in identifying a person of interest in the shooting. According to a Crime Stoppers release, detectives were able to locate footage showing an individual of interest. (View the image below of the person of interest)
(Person of Interest in downtown Albuquerque shooting on Nov. 14, 2024)
Por Vida has been on the corner of Fourth Street and Coal Ave. for the last three years after moving to the downtown area from Rio Rancho. Bale was also a prominent figure in the neighborhood.
In the hours after the shooting, dozens of people crowded around the crime scene, some of them in tears.
Details about the shooting are still limited at this time. APD hasn't said if there was a fight or any other crime that led up to the shooting.
"I believe that there were witnesses or people in the business, but like I said, there were different businesses. I think there was a tattoo parlor, there's a barbershop upstairs. So I am not sure who was in there, who was where, or how many people.," said Gallegos.
Police say at this point no one has been charged for the crime. Thursday morning while searching for the suspect, officers detained a man who had a warrant. However, the department said that person has not been charged in connection to the shooting at this point.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers, anonymously at (505) 843-STOP. People can also submit anonymous tips to p3tips.com/531 or TEXT "ABQCS" to 738477.