The family of a University of New Mexico student who was killed in a shootout with a New Mexico State University basketball player is now suing NMSU, the school's athletic director and former basketball coach.
The lawsuit alleges that NMSU and certain employees created a "toxic culture" within the basketball program, which ultimately led to the shooting death of Brandon Travis, then 19, by Mike Peake.
New Mexico State has maintained that basketball player Mike Peake was lured to the University of New Mexico campus in November of 2022 while there for an away game by four UNM students before he shot and killed Brandon Travis in self defense.
Peake was also shot in the altercation but recovered from his wounds. Peake was reportedly lured to the campus over a brawl that had taken place a month prior on NMSU’s campus.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, the Travis family's lawsuit alleges that the entire incident could have been avoided had NMSU, it's athletic director and former basketball program not created a culture that included "relaxed recruiting standards, a lack of discipline and accountability and players openly carrying guns."
“The negligent acts and omissions of the defendants unreasonably endangered the health, safety and wellbeing of (Travis), ultimately resulting in his untimely death,” the lawsuit states.
The day of the shooting, the UNM Lobos and the NMSU Aggies were to play the first of two scheduled men's basketball games in Albuquerque. Peake traveled to Albuquerque on the team bus with his own, legally registered gun. NMSU has since acknowledged that bringing the gun on school property was a violation of school policy.
All three UNM students involved with Travis — Mya Hill, Jonathan Smith and Eli-sha Upshaw — have been convicted of crimes related to the shooting.
The suit alleges that several players on the NMSU team that season “purchased and openly carried firearms on campus, including in the locker rooms and on school-chartered buses, in direct violation of New Mexico law and campus policies.”
The Travis lawsuit asks for punitive damages, including reimbursement of funeral costs, the physical and emotional suffering Travis experienced between the time of the October brawl and his shooting death, all attorney fees and other damages.
