One teen boy is dead and another is in police custody after a school shooting in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“It’s just a terrible day for [Albuquerque Public Schools], a terrible day for this community,” superintendent Scott Elder said during a press conference on Friday. “I want to send out my thoughts and prays to all of our students who are impacted by this horrible event.”
Police say there’s no further threat to the public. An Albuquerque Public Schools police officer rushed to the site of the shooting, which occurred outside near the school track at lunch hour. The officer de-escalated the situation and provided first aid to the victim, police said.
“If anything further was going to happen, it was immediately stopped by the police officer who was at the school,” an APD spokesperson told reporters. “They just did a tremendous job and I’m thinking about that officer as much as I’m thinking about anyone else involved today.”
The victim, who was approximately 13 years old, was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died.
Albuquerque Public Schools asked that parents pick up their children as soon as possible.
The Albuquerque Police Department and Albuquerque Public Schools Police are conducting an ongoing investigation in to the shooting, any potential motive, how the shooter got the gun, and whether the incident was recorded on school or local surveillance systems. School officials said they were still in the process of contacting children’s parents.School on this coming Monday will be canceled, and police urged children to talk with their parents about what they were feeling and anything they witness that might help authorities uncover what lead to the shooting,
“Some students might’ve witnessed something,” the spokesperson added. “They might feel scared and we understand that. Take some time to feel comfortable, talk to your parents about this incident, but please reach out to us.”
There have been at least 425 mass shootings in 2021, according to the Gun Violence Archive, and if trends continue, this could be the worst period for school shootings in decades.“It takes not only the police, but the community as well to do something about this problem and confront it head on,” another police official said at the press conference. “This is a community issue. It’s not just a police issue. We all have to work together in this.”
