By Roger Lanse
Reports of shots fired resulted in Silver City Police Department officers being dispatched to the area of Texas Street and Broadway on Sunday, July 17, 2022, at about 1:02 a.m. According to a SCPD incident report, officers were advised by the Grant County Regional Dispatch Authority that three subjects had fled north on Bullard Street in a silver vehicle. At that time officers also observed heavy traffic leaving a residence near the intersection of Pinos Altos Street and Broadway and a large crowd of people running to their vehicles.
While officers were interviewing witnesses and processing the crime scene downtown, Grant County Sheriff's Office deputies made contact with the suspected shooter, Joshua Batiste, 30, of Tempe, Arizona, who admitted firing several rounds in the air. Witnesses stated he was firing at them with a black handgun and could hear the bullets striking the building along where they were running. SCPD detectives recovered a black Stoeger STR 9 mm handgun from underneath the driver's seat of Batiste's vehicle.
One male was determined to have been shot in the shin and was transported to Gila Regional Medical Center in a private vehicle.
Batiste was transported to the Grant County Detention Center charged with one count of aggravated battery a with deadly weapon, three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and one count of negligent use of a deadly weapon.
According to GCDC staff, Batiste remains in custody on a no-bond hold.