Student Killed In Shooting Near West Mesa HS In Albuquerque: Cops

ALBUQUERQUE, NM — A West Mesa High School student was slain in a shooting near campus Friday morning that forced the school to shelter in place.

The shooting happened near a football field across the street from the school, officials said at a news conference Friday.

Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina told reporters Friday a sergeant who was one of the first responders to the school tried to perform life-saving measures on the student, who did not survive.

"Forever, this sergeant will carry that," Medina said. "He was out there trying to do what he could."

The student's name wasn't immediately released. Victim's advocates are meeting with the student's family.

Early indications are the student may have left the school and a fight ensued with another person, possibly another youth who had a gun, officials said. Police believe there is no one further in danger to the community.

"We do have a suspect identified that we're trying to verify to see if it is indeed the offender," Medina said.

It wasn't immediately know if the victim and shooter knew each other. Police are questioning witnesses and an apprehension team is trying to take the person into custody.

The district said the shooting happened near school grounds, but it was "far too close."

"My thoughts, our thoughts and prayers go out to that student's family and to all the families at West Mesa who I know are wildly upset and probably very fearful," Scott Elder, the district superintendent, said at a news conference.

He added: "I want to make it very clear this wasn't an active shooting, active shooter situation. The gun did not come on to campus. The student left campus."

Elder called the shooting "deeply disturbing," and said it underscores the importance for the public to help keep guns out of the hands of kids.

"This is a tragedy," he said.

Mayor Tim Keller said his administration is thinking of the families affected. He said he and his wife talked Thursday night about their children going through an active shooter drill.

"We were actually trying to explain to our kids why they have to do that and what guns are and how dangerous they are," he said, referencing active shooter situations recently in Washington and in downtown Albuquerque on Thursday.

The connection between juveniles with weapons is extremely dangerous, he said. Keller stressed it's something that needs addressed in the criminal justice system. Keller pleaded with families to notify the proper authorities if they believe their children have guns.

"Right now we just do not have adequate tools to deal with a juvenile that we know has a firearm and how to keep them off the street, or how to get them safe and keep everyone else safe from them," he said.

The weapon used in the shooting wasn't brought onto school grounds Friday, Keller said. The circumstances surrounding the shooting — including what led up to gunfire and the background of the shooter — remains unknown.

"This is a related conversation that's been happening all over America," Keller said. "Now it's happening right here in Albuquerque."

He later added the "nightmare is real" for West Mesa families.

Juveniles who unlawfully get hold of a weapon currently face misdemeanor charges, meaning it's not referred to the district attorney's office and prosecutors aren't made aware of the offense, Raúl Torrez, the Bernalillo County district attorney, said. The youths are often also not booked into any detention center.

"We don't think that's safe, we don't think that protects the community. And it certainly does us all a disservice in terms of providing us all a level of protection that we all expect," Torrez said.

Investigators plan to look closely at the origins of the gun used in the shooting, including whether it was taken from a home or if it was stolen. They hope to use that information to determine if anything could've been done to prevent the violence.

Torrez called the deadly shooting a "wake up call."

"The issue of gun violence in young people is something that we can't ignore any longer," he said.

Previously, legislation that would've made juvenile possession of a firearm a felony was blocked in a committee, Torrez said. He called on lawmakers to reexamine the legislation and listen to people "on the front lines of public safety."

Medina, the police chief, echoed Torrez's comments, noting that both alcohol and gun possession crimes by youths are misdemeanor offenses under the law.

"There's something theoretically wrong there," he said. "We need to increase our abilities to hold people to make sure they're held accountable."

Police plan to increase their presence at West Mesa High School on Monday to prevent further violence and help students, staff and parents feel safe.

Multiple police units surrounded the school Friday morning after students said they heard gunfire, KOB4 reporter Brianna Wilson tweeted.

The school, located in the Los Volcanes neighborhood, began sheltering in place around 8:30 a.m. due to a police investigation in the area, a message on the school's website said. Parents were told they could pick up students as of 10:23 a.m. and that the shelter in place order was lifted.

West Mesa, like the district, is a minority-majority public school. It serves grades 9-12 and the majority of the student body is Hispanic.