ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A 13-year-old boy who was fatally shot at a New Mexico middle school on Friday was trying to de-escalate a violent situation between classmates, police said.
According to police during a Saturday news conference, Bennie Hargrove died after being shot at Washington Middle School in Albuquerque by Juan Saucedo Jr., 13, the Albuquerque Journal reported. Hargrove was taken to an area hospital, where he died.
Saucedo Jr. was arrested and charged with an open count of murder and the unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon on school premises, according to KRQE.
The Albuquerque Police Department said Hargrove was shot six times by Saucedo Jr. during the lunch period at the school, KOB-TV reported.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Children’s Court, officers responded to the school at about 12:40 p.m. MDT and found Hargrove with multiple gunshot wounds.
Albuquerque Public Schools Officer Joanne Urbanic took Saucedo Jr. into custody at the scene, the Journal reported.
According to a police report, students said Saucedo Jr. showed them the gun earlier in the day, which he had brought from home, KOB reported.
>> Albuquerque middle school student fatally shot; 1 student in custody
Investigators said Hargrove was trying to stop Saucedo Jr. from bullying his friends when he was shot multiple times.
A classmate who knew both boys said she heard gunshots and saw Hargrove fall to the ground, according to the Journal.
“Ever since then, it hurts. Seeing somebody die like that, right in front of you, it’s just painful,” the eighth-grader told the newspaper. “He just wanted to make peace, but Juan didn’t want to. He just wanted to shoot him, I guess.”
Police ID suspect, victim in middle school shooting - see story at https://t.co/ZjrOB5o388 pic.twitter.com/tBTEilDBiJ
— Albuquerque Journal (@ABQJournal) August 14, 2021
Juan Saucedo Sr., 41, was banned from Highland High School after he wounded another parent during a fight in the student pickup lane in 2018, according to the Journal. He was not arrested, and the district attorney’s office declined to charge either man after deciding they each had “valid defense claims.”
“Given the father’s history, our detectives are looking at every factor that may have contributed to Friday’s tragic shooting,” Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said in a statement to the Journal. “It is not acceptable that a child had access to a gun and took it to school.”
The Saucedo family declined to comment when reached by telephone Saturday, the newspaper reported.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said Hargrove showed “courage” in the face of bullying at a time when dozens of children were in the area.
“It’s very likely that his actions might also have actually prevented something worse from happening,” Keller told the Journal. “(Friday) was a dark and tragic day for our community that, unfortunately, we have not witnessed before. (It) is something that we never, ever want to see, and it’s something that, unfortunately, is going to be part of our history and part of our community’s trauma for decades to come.”
Family and friends of Hargrove created a GoFundMe page to help raise funds for funeral expenses.
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