The suspect fled campus after the confrontation and SJC DPS and Farmington Police were notified. The campus was immediately put into Emergency Lockdown procedures. Soon after, the suspect returned to SJC and was detained by the Farmington Police Department.
No injuries were reported.
San Juan College believes this was an isolated incident, unrelated to any other campus events.
From San Juan College:
On December 7 at approximately 10:55 a.m., a San Juan College Department of Public Safety representative was confronted by an individual with a firearm in Parking Lot A, near the intersection of College Boulevard and Campus Avenue. The suspect fled campus after the confrontation and SJC DPS and Farmington Police were notified. The campus was immediately put into Emergency Lockdown procedures. Soon after, the suspect returned to SJC and was detained by the Farmington Police Department.
No injuries were reported.
San Juan College students and staff received two emergency RAVE alerts during this incident. The alert with the subject line “Shooting Report Lockdown” included misinformation. According to reports from the SJC Public Safety Department, no firearm was discharged.
San Juan College believes this was an isolated incident, unrelated to any other campus events.
The Alertus function of the Rave System, which broadcast Rave Alerts on San Juan College computer screens, did not activate as normal during this incident although this function is tested weekly. San Juan College is working with Rave technicians to resolve this issue.
For 15 years, Lauren Laws has dedicated her career to Aztec Schools, beginning as a Special Education teacher in 2008. In 2010 she transitioned to General Education, where she spent six years in the classroom working with 4th and 5th graders at Park Avenue Elementary while completing work on her Master's Degree. During her tenure at Park Avenue Elementary, she also served a Lead Teacher, Assistant Principal, and Principal. Lauren has spent the past three years serving as the Associate Superintendent of Teaching and Learning for the district.
Brice Current was a former narcotics agent with the San Juan County Sheriff's Office in Aztec, NM. He was hired as Durango's Deputy Police Chief in 2019.
The FMS Board of Education authorized school security personnel to carry firearms on school premises during their January 9, 2024, meeting. The move paved the way for the hiring of Armed Campus Safety Monitors (ACSMs), former certified law enforcement officers tasked with providing an additional layer of protection for students and staff during emergencies.
Farmington Officials gathered with representatives from the NM Department of Transportation and San Juan County to break ground on the long-anticipated Pinon Hills Boulevard Extension Project. San Juan County announced that design work on their section of the project is 90% completed.
Kevin Summers will be returning to the Bloomfield School District as Superintendent, after the retirement of Dr. Kim Mizell at the end of the current school year. Summers' hire makes an opening in the Superintendent's Office in Aztec where he has served for the past three years.
Fort Lewis College President Tom Stritikus is stepping down to become the President at Occidental College, a four-year liberal arts college in Los Angeles, Calif. Steven Schwartz, Fort Lewis College’s Vice President for Finance and Administration, will serve as interim president effective May 6.
He will leave after this year’s Spring Commencement scheduled for Saturday, May 4.