Volcano Vista, Cleveland High School students accused of bringing guns to campus

Two unrelated incidents Tuesday, no one hurt

ALBUQUERQUE, RIO RANCHO, N.M. (KRQE) – Two metro-area high school students are each accused of bringing a gun onto high school campuses in two unrelated incidents Tuesday. According to emails obtained by KRQE News 13, one student at Volcano Vista High School in Albuquerque and one student at V. Sue Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho were each found with a gun in their possession.

At Volcano Vista High School, the student is said to be facing criminal charges after a gun was found in a backpack on school grounds Tuesday. The high school’s principal confirmed the incident in an email to parents and students.

No one was hurt, and authorities haven’t released the name or gender of the student said to be at the center of the incident. According to the email obtained by KRQE News 13, the gun was confiscated from a student’s backpack in the south parking lot sometime Tuesday.

The Albuquerque Public Schools Police Department is now investigating the Volcano Vista incident. The school’s parking lot was shut down for an extended period of time Tuesday in relation to it.

While confirming the incident, Albuquerque Public Schools administrative office did not have any additional information to release about what happened Tuesday. It’s unclear if anyone was directly threatened by the student who had the weapon.

According to the email from VVHS’ Principal Melissa Sedillo, school officials learned of the weapon because people came forward after learning of “possible threats to our students and staff.” Sedillo wrote, “because of this saying [‘see something, say something’] that we were notified by a concerned individual and we were able to keep everyone safe.”

A similar, unrelated incident unfolded at Rio Rancho’s V. Sue Cleveland High School Tuesday afternoon. According to an email obtained by KRQE News 13, a student was taken into custody after a handgun was confiscated on campus. The student’s name or gender hasn’t been released by authorities.

According to an email from V. Sue Cleveland High School’s administration, the incident unfolded after another student notified a school security officer that a student on campus had a weapon. School administrators say, “at no time were any threats made, and the weapon was not brandished or pointed at anyone.”

The student who was found with the weapon on campus is expected to face charges, according to school administrators. In an email to parents, administrators said the student will also “face punishments to the full extent of the district’s discipline matrix.”