Three school threats in as many weeks

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Another school threat revealed on Monday makes three in as many weeks.

According to an Albuquerque Police report a 14-year-old student at Holy Ghost Catholic School threatened to shoot another student in the head.

“This one in particular resulted from bullying,” said APD Deputy Chief Paul Feist.

The eighth-grader told fellow students of his plan, those students then reported it to school staff in late September.

In the police report the student said he was angry and upset because he was being bullied and being called gay.

APD was called in to help.

“We not only send out our school resource officers who have advanced training in dealing with this, our crisis intervention team and psychiatrist,” Deputy Chief Feist said.

The student did not have any weapons on him and his father’s guns were securely locked up.

The boy was taken in for a mental evaluation and APD said he will not be charged.

“We recognize that this person here may have been more hurt and angry as compared to somebody who is criminally violent,” said Feist.

It is the third death threat in as many weeks at an Albuquerque School.

A week before the threat at Holy Ghost Catholic School, APS got wind of a plot by two Tony Hillerman students to shoot up the middle school then kill themselves.

Those two sixth graders were suspended for the school year. They have also not been charged.

Then just last week another middle school student at McKinley threatened to blow up the school after getting into an argument with another student.

He did not have a bomb but he was suspended and faces expulsion for the rest of the school year. He was also charged with making threats.

APD said they do deal with a number of threats at schools but not to this extent.

“I think this many this close together is kind of outside the norm,” Feist said.

The Deputy Chief told News 13 sometimes kids make these kinds of threats to get attention not realizing how serious the consequences can be.

He said no matter the credibility of the threat, the department responds appropriately.

“We’re never going to take the stance that oh they’re crying wolf or that this is not going to be real, we’re going to approach it as being real and then we’ll diffuse it or remedy it as necessary,” said Feist.

It is not clear if the student in the Holy Ghost case was disciplined by the school.

The school was closed on Monday.