Threats, investigations impact multiple New Mexico schools

APS response to threats, weapons on school campus

Guns on school campuses and threats to harm others is a sad reality that school districts are now having to deal with to make sure children are safe while they learn.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Tuesday was a day of threats, lockdowns, guns on campus, arrests, and confusion across New Mexico.

KOB 4 has been keeping track of all the situations that played out on campuses Tuesday.

CIMARRON HIGH SCHOOL

Colfax County Sheriff’s deputies got a call Tuesday evening about a juvenile apparently pulling a gun on someone at the high school after classes ended. 

A viewer sent us a photo of State Police and local investigators near the high school earlier. 

Sheriff Leonard Baca says they are interviewing a person of interest, but no one is hurt, and there is no threat. 

This set off a tense chain reaction throughout the town. Families got a message from Cimarron School officials, saying law enforcement would be escorting students in the after school programs to a nearby market to be picked up. 

Baca says no one is under arrest, and he’ll release more information as it becomes available. 

VOLCANO VISTA HIGH SCHOOL 

That’s not the only case involving guns on New Mexico campuses Tuesday, a student was detained in the metro. 

It happened at Volcano Vista High School today on Albuquerque’s West Side. 

Albuquerque Public School reps say staff found two guns on campus Tuesday, one of them was loaded in a student’s backpack. No one was hurt.

Reps say someone tipped off school staff. They also reportedly searched the student’s car and found another gun. 

Police detained that student, and school administrators say they will face severe consequences.

We reached out to Bernalillo District Attorney Sam Bregman about this incident. In a statement, he simply said this is unacceptable and his office will seek full accountability. 

RATON HIGH SCHOOL

Schools had to shelter in place for the better part of the afternoon. The Raton Public Schools superintendent says they learned about a shooting threat directed at Raton High School. 

She says investigators swept the campus and found nothing suspicious, but they’re still investigating.

There will be no school Wednesday for all Raton schools. Classes will resume Thursday. 

CENTENNIAL HIGH SCHOOL

Las Cruces police arrested two students accused of making shooting threats on social media against a local high school. Those students are a 13-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl. 

Police say they were making threats against Centennial High School. They’re both now facing charges. 

DEL NORTE HIGH SCHOOL

Multiple other schools were also looking into threats made on social media Tuesday. A lot of parents learned about those possible threats, and schools quickly investigated. 

Del Norte High School in Albuquerque had to shelter in place Tuesday because of a threat online. Nex+Gen Academy nearby had to do the same. APD investigated and gave the all clear. 

Volcano Vista High School leaders as well as those at Puesta Del Sol Elementary in Rio Rancho also learned about online threats seeming to target their campuses. Those were also found to be not credible.

While a lot of families were dealing with these situations and confusion Tuesday, no one was hurt. 

Talking to children about school safety in New Mexico

Once the school district handles threats on site, parents are left to answer questions and make sure their child is mentally OK. KOB 4 spoke to an expert about how to navigate those conversations.