As we previously reported, two students were taken into custody on September 20, for bringing guns to ACE Leadership High School. On Friday, ACE Leadership High School Executive Director Justin Trager sent a letter to families of ACE students about the incident. Within the letter, Executive Director Trager stated, “their investigation found two students that were each in possession of a firearm that were NOT loaded, and one separate student with a BB gun.“
Yesterday, we told you that ACE Leadership’s statement about the firearms being unloaded was incorrect. According to our sources, we were told that two of the guns were in fact loaded. One student reportedly had a loaded 9mm handgun with ammunition. Meanwhile, another student had in their possession a .40 caliber handgun with matching ammunition and a loaded extra magazine.
This morning, the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office announced that a 17-year-old and 16-year-old would appear in Juvenile Court today. According to police, on September 20th, a school employee found a 9mm gun with 11 bullets in the magazine inside the older teen’s bag. On the same day, the school’s CEO found a loaded gun with a magazine containing 12 bullets in the younger teen’s possession. In a separate bag, the CEO also found a large-capacity magazine that held 31 bullets.
The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office emphasizes a zero-tolerance policy for weapons on school grounds. The DA’s Office stated this morning that they were seeking to keep both teens in custody for the safety of the school and the community.
This afternoon, a judge ruled a 16-year-old charged with bringing a firearm onto ACE Leadership campus will remain in custody as his case goes through the judicial process. Also, a judge decided that a 17-year-old, accused of bringing a gun to ACE high school, will stay in custody while his case moves through court.
As we have told ABQ RAW readers in the past, juvenile criminal records or criminal complaints are nearly impossible to obtain. This applies to juvenile offenders, regardless of whether they are accused or convicted of murder.
ACE sent this letter to the parents and guardians of their students:
Throw the book at these punks charge them as adults and prosecute the parents. I’d like to know how kids are getting ahold of weapons if it’s the parents fault, twice the penalty. Responsible gun ownership is secure storage.
I am thinking this isn’t your ordinary/everyday “students”. If you get my drift.