SANTA TERESA, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) — Stray bullets that have damaged homes and even aircraft near the Doña Ana County International Jetport in Santa Teresa have prompted county officials and law enforcement to step up enforcement against illegal target shooting in the area.

Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office Major Alfred Sanchez said people have been unlawfully shooting on an adjacent property known as “The Wall”, with bullets striking the Wall and continuing into nearby neighborhoods.

“Some of those bullets are hitting the residents, damaging homes, damaging aircrafts here at the airport,” Sanchez said.

The property sits between the jetport and a new Sunland Park housing development.

Jetport management said the most recent incident of damage to an aircraft happened in September 2025, when a bullet struck a plane while it was inside a hangar.

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Doña Ana County Commissioner Gloria Gameros said she has seen the impact on residents firsthand.

“I was able to speak to a family. They invited me into their home and I saw where the bullet had entered into from their back area into the living room,” Gameros said.

Sanchez said Jetport management is allowing the sheriff’s office to install no-trespassing signs around the property and that deputies will conduct increased patrols in the area.

Sanchez also said Sunland Park has given the sheriff’s office authority to take enforcement action there.

“What’s happening right now is people are afraid because they’ll hear the rounds by their residence or actually hitting their residence,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez said the sheriff’s office plans to spend the next couple of weeks educating the public about the enforcement effort and the risks posed by the shooting.

“What we want to do these next couple of weeks is educate the public as to why we’re doing this and the damage it’s causing to not only the airport but residents in Dona Ana County,” he said.

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After the education effort, Sanchez said there will be “zero tolerance” for trespassing, and anyone found on the property will be cited and taken to court.

Meanwhile, New Mexico state Rep. Raymundo Lara said he is looking at a longer-term approach.

“I’m doing a study right now to see if I can implement a zone around airports, not just here in Dona Ana County but statewide, to see if there’s an area or a range where the discharge of firearms is not allowed,” Lara said.

Lara said he is proposing a three-mile radius around airports where the discharge of firearms would not be allowed at 2027 January’s New Mexico legislative session.

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