West Mesa students on edge about school safety, gun violence

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — West Mesa High School was forced to shelter in place Monday afternoon due to “police activity” in the area.

According to APD, a 15-year-old West Mesa student was shot and is recovering from non-life-threatening injuries. Police said another teen – who does not go to West Mesa – was also injured, but was not shot.

For students at West Mesa, this situation is all too familiar. Two months ago, a gun went off during class, and luckily, no one was hurt.

Students have been on edge, especially after their classmate, 16-year-old Andrew Burson was shot and killed last year – near the same park from Monday’s shooting.

Just last month, West Mesa students and teachers spoke up at the latest Albuquerque Public School Board meeting to voice how unsafe they feel.

APS sent the following letter to parents about Monday’s shooting, saying, “We recognize that incidents like this further traumatize students and staff, particularly after guns were found on our campus in December and January.”