New Mexico's largest school district was struck with heartbreak following a shooting that has left one student dead and another in custody. According to police, the victim tried to protect another boy from being bullied.
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During the lunch hour on Friday at Washington Middle School, gunfire signaled the second shooting in Albuquerque for the second time in less than 24 hours, the Associated Press reported.
"These tragedies should never occur. That they do tells us there is more work to be done," Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said.
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This year, the city is set to shatter its homicide record, and this shooting has left the community heartbroken.
Police identified the boy killed as 13-year-old Bennie Hargrove. Police chief Harold Medina said on Friday night that Hargrove was a hero during a brief statement.
"He stood up for a friend and tried to deescalate a violent confrontation between classmates," Medina said. He said the incident was "a tragedy that has shaken our community."
The shooter, a 13-year-old boy, was charged with one count of open murder and unlawfully carrying a deadly weapon on school premises.
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One witness, another 13-year-old boy, told the police that the shooting occurred when Hargrove approached the suspect to tell him to stop bullying and punching a smaller boy.
The suspect then held a gun behind his leg out of Hargrove's sight while approaching him. The suspect then chambered a round and shot Hargrove multiple times, according to the witness via a probable cause statement, the AP reported.
The police officer assigned to the school ran over to the boys after hearing the shots and handcuffed the suspect to a fence before radioing for help and tending to Hargrove while waiting for medical personnel.
The suspect's father had discovered his gun was missing and headed to the school, police later learned. When he arrived, he saw his son in handcuffs.
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The witness also shared with police that the suspect was a nice boy but recently started acting like he was a gang member, picking on the other boys.
Friday was the third day of class for Albuquerque public school students who now won't return until Tuesday. Superintendent Scott Elder shared that staff will be making sure students have access to counseling or other support services to deal with the trauma of the incident.
"Of course, it's extremely difficult," he said of something like this happening so early in the school year. "There's a lot of pressure in the community. People are nervous. It was a terrible incident that happened between two people. It should have never happened. … This shouldn't happen in the community. It certainly shouldn't happen at a school."