Family and friends of a teenager shot and killed at Washington Middle School in Albuquerque a year ago recently gathered at the site of the tragedy to call for a change in the state’s gun laws.
Bennie Hargrove, 13, was killed after confronting another student who was bullying his friend, according to KOB. Albuquerque police say the suspect, Juan Saucedo Jr., used his father’s gun in the shooting.
“I want change with the laws, with the gun laws, changes in our schools and how they’re protecting our students our kids,” Collette Wise, Hargrove’s mother said at the gathering, according to KOB. “It starts with the school first, we need something to protect our kids."
According to KOB, the city is planning to build a memorial bench and plant a tree in Hargrove’s honor at a park by the school, but Hargrove’s family wants more done to prevent another tragedy. They want stricter gun laws and more protection for the students who attend school.
“We are upset, and we want changes for the rest of the students and families so they don’t have to go through this experience that we’re going through, because this hurts,” Wise said, according to KOB. “He was a very bright boy, he was so handsome and all his friends loved him, and he was persistent, if he wanted it he was going to get it."
