Four guns seized from students at Albuquerque schools in less than a week

Albuquerque Public Schools says four students brought guns to middle and high school campuses in separate incidents over the past week.

APS spokesman Martin Salazar said three of the four students have been charged with unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon onto school premises.

The Feb. 21 case against a Cleveland Middle School student — who allegedly threw the gun after running from police — is still under investigation.

The other incidents happened at Valley, West Mesa and Del Norte high schools. Salazar said there have now been eight instances of guns found “at or near” APS schools since August.

“We are deeply troubled by the guns that have made it onto our campus in recent days. This is outrageous and should not be happening,” APS Superintendent Gabriella Blakey said in a statement. “We have been working with the (district attorney) and our other law enforcement partners to make it clear to students that there will be severe consequences for anyone caught with a gun on campus.”

Blakey said “we can’t do it alone” and asked parents to check their children’s backpack and cars and talk to them “about the potential life-changing repercussions of bringing a gun to school should someone be hurt or killed.”

She said parents should also tell their children that bringing a gun to school will result in an automatic one-year expulsion and criminal prosecution.

The first incident, on Feb. 20, involved a loaded handgun being confiscated from a 15-year-old’s backpack at Valley. The next day, Cleveland Middle School police, following a report of a gun on campus, tried to search a student.

The student ran off school grounds and officers found a gun “near the school,” Salazar said. The same day, a gun was found in a 16-year-old student’s vehicle at West Mesa.

Then, on Monday, Del Norte staff learned of a student carrying a gun on school grounds, he said. The 17-year-old ran from police and was arrested in a parking lot across the street.

“During a subsequent search of the area, police located the gun in a nearby bush,” Salazar said.

The four incidents showed that the district’s “see something, say something” message is working, Salazar said, as APS staff were alerted to the gun on campus in each case.

“We are particularly grateful to our students who have stepped up and told us about weapons on their campuses. They want their schools to be safe, and they’re doing something about it,” he said.