LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Lawmakers from southern New Mexico are reacting to the Las Cruces mass shooting that happened in their district.

Three of the four suspects are juveniles, and all four have criminal histories. 

On Saturday, Las Cruces Police Department Chief Jeremy Story said he wasn’t going to talk about politics. On Tuesday, he wanted lawmakers to know that something needs to be done about juvenile crime.

“It’s not just urban areas like Las Cruces or Albuquerque. It’s everywhere,” said state Sen. Joseph Cervantes. 

Cervantes says juvenile crime in his hometown of Las Cruces is a bigger issue than any one city. 

The session just wrapped, and critics have said the Legislature didn’t do enough to tackle juvenile crime. 

“The violence that occurred here was not because these juveniles didn’t feel there was enough risk of going to jail. What we’ve learned is there were no police on duty. Evidently, there were not enough units on a Friday night,” Cervantes said. 

That is something Story said was true. But the bigger issue is lawmakers not addressing juvenile crime. 

“This is not about politics, but it is about policy. Police chiefs from across the state and the New Mexico Association of Chiefs of Police have been screaming from the rooftops about a very serious juvenile violent crime problem we have in New Mexico,” said Story.

Las Cruces Rep. Sarah Silva says the police shortage is an issue that needs to be addressed at the state and local level.

“The city, not just the police department, but the administration and elected officials need to take a hard look at how to do more to fill those jobs,” said Silva. 

Since lawmakers gaveled out on Saturday, there has been talk about a possible special session.

Silva says she doesn’t know how effective that would be.

“I appreciate the urgency, and I don’t see us having those best ideas come to fruition in a special session without having those additional conversations beforehand,” Silva said. 

But she’s already reviewing bills that didn’t pass. Cervantes says he’s not opposed to a special session, but did watch as a judge decided to keep three juveniles behind bars Tuesday.

“For the last several years, we’ve been hearing that we need new laws to detain individuals. We need pretrial detention laws. We didn’t need that today,” said Cervantes. 

KOB 4 reached out to state Rep. Joanne Ferrary Tuesday, and she sent the following statement: 

“The senseless horror and tragedy from Friday’s mass shooting has shaken our community. We are all family here in Las Cruces, and my heart is with the victims and their loved ones. I want to thank all the first responders who helped deal with this horrible tragedy and the healthcare providers now caring for the wounded victims.   

We must do more as a community, a state, and a nation to prevent mass shootings. Now is not the time for political games. It is time to come together to develop workable solutions. 

State, city, county, and community leaders must work together to address the root causes of youth gun violence as well as keeping firearms out of their hands.”

It’s unclear if a special session will be called, but Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has said she wants one.