ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – How are the child offenders behind school threats punished, and held accountable in New Mexico?

KOB 4 took that question to our state’s stop prosecutor.

“Are they OK? Is everything going to be all right?” said New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez. 

As a parent, that’s what Torrez says runs through his mind every time he hears about school threats in our state.

Then, the natural questions: What if it was your kid’s school? And what happens next?

“And then that worry and concerns turns to anger pretty quickly when people look at this, and they think, ‘Wow, you know, you can threaten to shoot up a school, and it’s only a misdemeanor,’” said Torrez. 

This past week, parents across the state heard about online threats made toward their children’s’ schools. Some schools even canceled classes just to be safe. 

Two incidents, one in Las Cruces and one at a high school in Albuquerque, ended with arrests. 

A Volcano Vista student will remain in custody. The teen is accused of bringing two guns to school.

Police in Las Cruces arrested three children, the youngest 11 years old, for allegedly threatening local schools online. 

Torrez says these incidents prove once again something needs to be done to New Mexico’s Children’s Code.

“We have to be unequivocal when it comes to guns. This will not be tolerated, taking a gun to school, threatening to take a gun to school is unacceptable. Otherwise, we are undermining everything that we are trying to do in terms of building a safer community,” said Torrez. 

Torrez recommends mass threats should be classified as a fourth-degree felony instead of misdemeanors.

“The law as it’s written now only makes this kind of conduct a misdemeanor rather than a felony. I don’t think that’s where most of the community is. I think most of the community wants to have a much more severe consequence associated with making this kind of threat,” Torrez said. 

He also says it should be mandated that children who commit crimes with guns get booked into youth detention centers. It’s a push he’s been making since he was Bernalillo County District Attorney, and the current DA is on the same page.

DA Sam Bregman has spoken to us several times about his concerns with the Children’s Code.

“Listen, I’m not someone who’s advocating out there throwing the book and throwing the key away on 11 year olds. But I am saying we have to have some more tools in the toolbox,” said Bregman. 

Both agree the current code is inconsistent and there needs to be predictable consequences for these kinds of actions. They’ll continue voicing their concerns all the way up until the 60-day legislative session that starts in January.

“This is not about coming up with language, this is about coming up with the courage, the political will to do what’s right, and that’s what we desperately need in Santa Fe,” said Torrez.