Three Valencia High School students found with gun (UPDATED)

Editor's note: Additional reporting about specifics of the incident at Valencia High School were added to the print edition, which was published today, Oct. 16, 2025)

TOMÈ — Three Valencia High School students have been arrested and booked into the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center on Wednesday, Oct. 8, in connection with an incident involving a handgun at the school Monday, Oct. 6, according to the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the criminal complaints a 17-year-old junior allegedly took a .22 caliber handgun onto school property Monday. The students were questioned and a Los Lunas Schools’ student resource officer took custody of the handgun before contacting VCSO.

A VCSO deputy took possession of the weapon and initiated the agency’s investigation that day.

Follow-up interviews by VCSO on Tuesday and Wednesday revealed that three students — the 17-year-old and two 16-year-old juniors — had handled and possessed the handgun on school grounds.

In the criminal complaint, the 17-year-old junior was seen handling the firearm inside a classroom “in an unsafe manner.” Other students in the classroom notified school staff members, who then got VHS student resource officers involved.

VCSO’s investigation determined the three students had conspired to conceal the firearm during the investigation by Los Lunas Schools’ SROs.

The trio are charged with three fourth-degree felony offenses — unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon on school premises, tampering with evidence and conspiracy.

Arrest warrants were approved and obtained by the 13th Judicial District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday. All three students were taken into custody at the VCSO office without incident, according to the press release, and booked into the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center.

“Our foremost priority is the safety and wellbeing of students and staff,” Valencia County Sheriff Denise Vigil wrote in a statement. ”Thanks to the quick actions of observant students and the immediate response of our School Resource Officers, this situation was resolved before anyone was harmed. Firearms have no place on school campuses, and we will continue to work closely with Los Lunas Schools to ensure our campuses remain safe environments for learning. We also commend the courage of those who came forward, this kind of community awareness is vital to preventing tragedy.”

In a press release sent on Tuesday afternoon, Los Lunas Schools acknowledged the district was investigating the incident at Valencia High School on Monday as well as a separate incident at Los Lunas High School on Tuesday, confirming that LLS administration “was alerted to and confirmed the presence of a firearm on each campus.

”Upon being notified of both situations, school and district officials as well as local law enforcement responded immediately to secure the campuses and begin thorough

Investigations,” the district wrote in the release.

“Our commitment to the safety and well-being of our students and staff remains our highest priority;” wrote Los Lunas Schools Superintendent Susan D. Chavez in a statement. “We will take every necessary measure to maintain a secure environment across our district. It is imperative that all members of our community remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities. We take every report seriously, no matter how insignificant it may seem.”

According to the criminal complaint, a VCSO deputy arrived at Valencia High on Monday, around 3 p.m., after being called to the school for an “agency assist.” Once there, the deputy took possession of the handgun, a .22 caliber.

Once in charge of the investigation, VCSO began the investigation, collecting statements from the three students “directly involved with the incident,” according to the report.

In an interview with Valencia High School Principal Jennifer Otero, VCSO determined the first report of a gun being found in a classroom came just before 1:30 p.m. Monday. In witness interviews, three students in the classroom with the accused students said the 17-year-old displayed the firearm in class.

The student “described them as “racking the weapon and playing with it” before requesting to leave the classroom. Once outside the room, he reported the gun to school authorities. SROs soon arrived in the classroom to take the 17 year old to the front office.

This is when students saw the 17 year old “place the firearm” into the backpack of one of the 16 year olds.

Soon after, VCSO attempted to contact the 17-year-old’s mother at her residence and was told by his grandmother the mother was at work. According to the report, the mother agreed to bring the 17 year old in for an interview.

During the interview, she confirmed she owns two handguns. VCSO was told the handgun found at VHS was not hers. Later in the investigation, the mother did confirm one of her firearms was missing.

When brought in for his interview by VCSO, the 17 year old waived his Miranda rights and agreed to give a statement. He told investigators he didn’t understand why he was removed from the classroom and said the teacher “believed he had something in his pocket, but nothing was found” before “invoking his right to legal counsel” shortly afterward.

During a separate interview with the father of the 16 year old whose bag the firearm was found in, the father stated his son told him the 17 year old “brought a gun to school, displayed” before passing it to the 16 year old when SROs came to the classroom, according to the criminal complaint. The student confirmed this, adding he then passed the firearm to the other 16 year old. The two then switched backpacks in an attempt to hide the weapon.

Subsequently, the 17-year-old’s mother was asked to go back to VCSO offices and identify the firearm. It was during this interaction that VCSO confirmed that the .22 caliber handgun found at the school belonged to her.

According to the report, the mother claimed the weapon had come up missing, and she asked her children about it, and “they claimed to have no knowledge of its whereabouts.”

While the three students are currently at the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center, the News-Bulletin has been unable to confirm their status as students in the Los Lunas Schools.

According to the LLS Student Handbook, in the “Consequences: Secondary section “school personnel may remove a student to an interim alternative educational setting (determined by child’s IEP team) for up to 45 school days if the child carries weapon to school or has a weapon at school, on school premises or at a school function under the jurisdiction of the PED or school district.