ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – University of New Mexico Police are re-evaluating safety protocol after an on-campus shooting early Friday morning, which left a 14-year-old visitor dead, a 19-year-old student injured, and an 18-year-old behind bars.
The 19-year-old UNM student who was shot and remains in the hospital had three visitors over at his dorm, which was within housing rules.
UNM police said security and patrolling are the same during the school year and during summer break, but patrol and visitor protocol will be updated following this incident.
Usually, a small handful of students are on campus during summer break. But the shooting happened while more than 400 students and parents were on campus for new student orientation.
The University’s Lobo-alert emergency message was sent out hours after the incident. Police said this is because they did not have enough information to send out until then. “Before that time, we didn’t have any information to send out because we didn’t know what was going on with the subject on campus, if there was a subject on campus, and if he had a gun or not,” said UNM Police Lieutenant Tim Delgado.
Police said they first got a silent alarm notification at 1:37 a.m. indicating that someone was trying to break in at Mesa Vista Hall, but UNM Police said they couldn’t find a subject when they arrived. They then got a call at 2:42 a.m. that a student was at UNM Hospital with a gunshot wound. But when police spoke with the student, he would not tell them where the incident took place. At 3:14 a.m., an officer made entry into the dorm through a window, found the dead 14-year-old, and the notification was sent out at 3:28 a.m.
“The first alert was sent to let people to know to stay away from a certain area,” Delgado said. “I think it was sent at 3:28 a.m., and we gave updates throughout the day. Then we closed the campus because the suspect was outstanding.”
The Casas Del Rio Dorm, where the Friday morning shooting occurred at, is managed by a private company called American Campus Communities. Although only students are allowed to live there, their rules are more relaxed than the regular UNM dorms as far as visitors. “Some of the students stay year-round on campus, and the subject was there, staying year-round,” Delgado said. “He was there.”
Regarding gun threats, police said it’s a misdemeanor to have a gun on campus. But they said it’s a hard thing to monitor. “Probably there’ll be some changes just like at Lobo Village,” Delgado said. “We had a problem at Lobo Village a while back, and we made some changes there with security and how many visitors they can have.”
UNM Police hold monthly meetings with UNM housing, student unions, and other University leaders. They said they will likely be changing some protocol involving visitors and patrolling before fall classes begin on August 18.
