Father charged after 9-year-old brought gun to school

An Albuquerque man is facing charges after his 9-year-old son allegedly brought his unsecured, loaded gun to school in late February.

The gun, a foldable .22 caliber pistol designed to look like a credit card, was left unsecured in Robert Encinio’s desk drawer at his home office, according to a criminal complaint filed March 12 in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court.

The boy allegedly took the gun, along with three bullets, from his father’s office and hid them in his bedroom overnight before bringing it to Mitchell Elementary School near Eubank and Comanche NE the next day. The boy showed the gun to three other students, according to the complaint.

In a letter to parents dated Feb. 27, Mitchell Principal Kristina Yar said students alerted school staff about the weapon and staff contacted the Albuquerque Public Schools Police Department, whose officers responded and seized the gun.

Yar said the student did not express any intentions of harming himself or others, though he will face disciplinary measures “up to and including expulsion.”

In her letter, Yar urged parents to make sure their weapons were inaccessible to children.

“The consequences of failing to do so could be devastating,” she wrote.

The student told authorities his father had around 44 firearms in his office, some of which were loaded and unsecured with locks. Court documents say Encinio, 42, had a timed keypad lock and metal bars securing the doors to his office, though the door was left open the night of the alleged incident. Encinio was home when the gun was taken, according to the complaint.

Encinio is being charged with negligently making a firearm accessible to a minor, a fourth-degree felony under a New Mexico state law named for Bennie Hargrove, a 13-year-old Albuquerque middle school student shot and killed by a classmate using his father’s improperly stored gun in 2021.

The law does not apply if a weapon is stored in a manner that a reasonable person would believe to be secure from a minor.

“People need to make sure their guns are stored safely — whether using a gun lock or a secure gun safe — especially around children. If a firearm is not properly secured and a child gains access to it and takes that gun to school, we will do everything we can to hold those responsible accountable,” Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said in a statement.

At least 70 guns have been seized at Albuquerque Public Schools since 2021. Three students, including Hargrove, have died in campus shootings since then. 

APS spokesperson Martin Salazar called the incident “a dangerous situation that could have resulted in a tragedy.”

Court records do not list an attorney for Encinio and calls to a number registered in his name went unreturned.

Natalie Robbins covers education for the Journal. You can reach her at nrobbins@abqjournal.com.