On Friday, a shooting at an Albuquerque, New Mexico middle school has left one student dead and another in handcuffs. The fatal shooting occurred only three days into the new school year.
The shooting occurred between two 13-year-old students during one of the school’s lunch breaks. A Washington Middle School resource officer was in the vicinity and immediately de-escalated the situation and detained the shooter until the Albuquerque Police Department arrived.
Washington Middle School serves grades six through eight. It has about 430 students.
The middle school was briefly placed on lockdown, and once the scene was secured, students were sent home for the day. No other students were injured during the incident.
The suspect was taken into custody. Neither the suspect nor the victim has been publicly identified.
Authorities are looking into whether or not bullying played a factor.
The investigation into the shooting is still ongoing. Investigators are now working to determine if the incident was witnessed by any other students or captured by surveillance cameras.
“It’s much too early to give any ideas on what led to this,” police Deputy Cmdr. Kyle Hartsock told the Santa Fe New Mexican.
The school will remain closed on Monday. Counseling will be available to students when they return to school.
