A New Mexico State University basketball star has been removed from the team indefinitely after killing his attacker in self-defense.
The shocking chain of events kicked off in October when NMSU junior forward Mike Peake attended a football game against the University of New Mexico. Players from their basketball team were there, and a fight ensued between them and Peake. The following month, when NMSU was scheduled to play at the UNM campus, Peake was unaware that there was a plot in place to attack him. On November 18th, Peake traveled to Albuquerque before the scheduled November 19th game. After arriving, Peake took a Lyft from the DoubleTree Hotel, where his team was staying, to the UNM campus to meet with UNM student Mya Hill.
Surveillance video shows the two walking together on the campus. Once they were out of camera view, three people were seen running into the frame, one of which was holding a baseball bat. One man points a gun at Peake while another hits him with a bat. When Peake tried to flee, University of New Mexico student Brandon Travis shot Peake in the leg. Peake then returned fire, killing Travis.
Investigators say Travis “conspired with a 17-year-old female and two of [his] male friends, all UNM students, to lure the 21-year-old victim to UNM campus and assault him.” It’s believed that the setup was a means of revenge for the October altercation. The rival game was canceled after news of the incident came to light.
Hill and Jonathan Smith have been arrested in connection to the incident. NMSU players Issa Muhammad, Marchelus Avery, and Anthony Roy, who assisted Peake in getting help and hiding his gun before police arrived at the scene of the shooting, have not faced charges but were suspended for one game. Though Peake was the victim and acted in self-defense, he has been indefinitely suspended from the New Mexico State team.
“Mike is suspended from our basketball team until the completion of the university’s investigation and the investigation of the proper authorities,” confirmed NMSU athletic director Mario Moccia.
Peake’s status as a student is unknown.
