Governor declares public health emergency over gun violence

Crowd gathers in Old Town Plaza for Second Amendment Rally

CORRECTION: This story has been corrected to reflect that State Police officers were in atte…

In the wake of a road-rage shooting death of an 11-year-old boy leaving Isotopes Park Wednesday night, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday signed an executive order declaring a public health emergency over what she called the “epidemic of gun violence” in New Mexico.

“I want to know that every parent is making sure their guns are locked up. I want to know that district attorneys and judges are using every tool at their disposal to hold bad actors accountable. I want to know that every gun store is not allowing straw purchases. I want to know that every law enforcement agency is using our red flag law,” she said in a news release.

“But until that happens in every community in our state, New Mexicans will continue to die,” she added.

In signing the executive order, which sets aside $750,000 in emergency funds to protect public safety while also minimizing economic or physical harm, Lujan Grisham cited the shooting deaths of three teenagers or children since late July, including the 5-year-old girl killed while sleeping in a mobile home in mid-August.

When asked if the public health emergency imposes certain measures across the state to curb gun violence, or if it just calls for all hands on deck to work on short-term solutions to gun violence, a spokesperson for the Governor’s Office said the chief executive “made it clear she wants reducing gun violence to be a top priority for public safety agencies.”

Lujan Grisham does note in the release that she’ll provide more details on the public health emergency Friday, and that she would also meet with law enforcement and criminal justice officials to strategize over how to crack down on gun violence.

The public health emergency will be in effect until Oct. 6.

The executive order was also accompanied by a letter Lujan Grisham sent to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland — the fourth in a year, her office noted — urging him to assign federal agents to New Mexico to help tackle escalating violence.

“Attorney General Garland, I have asked you — in fact begged you — to send additional federal agents to New Mexico on multiple occasions, only to be met with deafening silence,” Lujan Grisham said in the release.

In a news release, Lujan Grisham also called on Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller to “take every possible action to stem the flow of illegal drugs and guns into your city.”

“This is a powerful opportunity for leaders to listen to Albuquerque police officers. We welcome any and all help, from dealing with the national fentanyl problem to statewide gun violence laws and extra officers in Albuquerque,” mayor’s office spokesperson Ava Montoya said in a statement. “The sooner we can get past finger pointing to real solutions, the more lives we can save.”