A student was released recently after bringing a gun to Volcano Vista High School.
The unnamed student brought a handgun plus several rounds of ammunition to the high school in late May, according to KOB 4.
A school counselor saw the gun in the student's car and called the police, who detained the student.
"It is, in my judgment, unconscionable that an officer would find someone on campus with a weapon and ask to have that person detained, and based on some risk assessment instrument that we have very little information about, that person would be set free," Bernalillo County District Attorney Raúl Torrez said.
Police officers apprehended the student. But, a juvenile probation officer with the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD) told the police to let the student go because he was considered low-risk, KOB 4 reported.
Despite the fact that the student brought a gun with live ammunition to the school campus, he was not placed under arrest and was free to leave the school. Torrez said he believes it is dangerous to the community to let that type of student walk away after bringing a gun to school.
Torrez also said that simply releasing the student stopped the city from getting needed help and services to the teen.