NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Volcano Vista High School Students were placed under lockdown Friday because of an anonymous threat. This is only one of the many incidents that have forced schools to shelter in place since the start of the school year in August.
Since the start of the school year, there have been at least 7 incidents that have forced schools in New Mexico to go into lockdown.
FBI Spokesperson Frank Fisher, says since January there have been 19 threats reported. However, in the past 5 weeks alone, there have been several incidents that have caused panic among parents and students.
On August 22, a threat was made at Edgewood Middle School, requiring extra police at both the middle school and Estancia Valley Classical Academy. Only 2 days later on August 24, Dexter Police, Chaves County Sheriff’s Office, and state police responded to Dexter High School after getting reports of a student with a gun.
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The next day, Eunice High School went into lockdown because of a student with a gun. Another threat was reported at Sandia High School on August 26 and on August 30, Carlsbad Police responded to social media rumors about a threat at Carlsbad High School.
There was a big police presence at Del Norte on August 31. Police say 17-year-old Erbielo Cervantes fired off a round from his gun at the school forcing the high school and a nearby elementary into lockdown. Then on September 2, police investigated threats of a school shooting at Goddard High School in Roswell. Albuquerque Police Department also responded to a threat at Volcano Vista High on September 16. They say the threat was not credible.
For the past few years, Senator Craig Brandt has been pushing for legislation that would make it a felony to call in a shooting threat to any building. “It seems like a very common sense thing – we have a felony if you call in a bomb threat. A shooting threat is pretty much the same alignment,” said Sen. Brandt. Despite his efforts, it is still not a felony to make one of these threats.
In May, there were shots fired near Highland High School sparking a shelter-in-place. In June, a student was charged after making a threat to the Moriarty Edgewood School District. Cervantes is charged with shooting and having a gun on campus for the Del Norte incident.
