From Chief John D. Garcia / Raton Police Department
Raton Police Department’s response to the Raton High School Shooting Threat on Tuesday September 17th, 2024.
The Raton Police Department responded to a report of a possible threat to Raton High School at approximately 12:00 p.m. All law enforcement agencies (Raton Police Department, New Mexico State Police, Colfax County Sheriff’s Office) responded without hesitation to the possible threat. At no time was there ever a report of an active shooter on the Raton High campus.
The main building was entered, cleared and secured. As information continued to come in, several juveniles were pulled to the side for an interview by RPD officers. At no time was any juvenile interviewed without their parent or guardian present. There will be no names of any juvenile released at this time.
Two electronic devices were seized during the investigation and are being submitted for forensic analysis. NO GUNS of any kind were recovered during the process of clearing the school. All backpacks and lockers were searched as well as hiding areas to include bathrooms and outlying areas.
Several updates were provided by the superintendent and school staff during and after the incident, as well as an update provided by KRTN Radio the following day. In a dynamic situation it is not always easy to get the information out so desperately needed by the parents of children in school. I have three children and other family and friends in the Raton school system, it was my absolute priority, as well as that of my men, to get them and every child present home safely.
This is exactly what Raton Public School staff, RPD, NMSP, CCSO, Raton Fire, Raton Water Works, Raton Street Department, NM Game & Fish and Colfax County Rapid Response accomplished that day.
The following is all information on the incident to be released at this time:
1. The post was disseminated to and amongst juveniles, utilizing the social media platform Snapchat…. Law Enforcement Agency’s have been unable to identify the origin of the post.
2. The photos utilized in the post were not real time/up to date photos and more than likely were attained from Google maps or similar type navigation apps.
3. The post indicated plans by the suspect for a distraction technique (pulling the fire alarm to lure the students out of the school) and begin shooting the students while they were exiting the building. All lockers, backpacks, students and buildings were checked with no firearms being located on the premises.
4. The integrity of the school and potential crime scene was cleared for any possible threats and secured by all involved LEA’s keeping all students in a safe location until it was determined safe (exterior perimeter clear) to move the students.
5. All students were secured in areas that had been swept/cleared by Law Enforcement Officers.
6. All the involved parties who were interviewed by LEOs, who were juveniles, had to have parental consent prior to being interviewed, which took extensive amounts of time as most parents were at work and requested to be present with their child during the interview process.
7. Not all parents were willing to cooperate with LEOs and have them interact with their children.
8. Throughout the process of interviews and reaching out to Snapchat for assistance as well as utilizing the Raton Public Schools IT personnel no other threatening posts or messages were brought to light.
9. The Raton Police Department is requesting assistance from the public including parents and students, who may have any digital evidence, or firsthand knowledge of who may have generated the post, to come forward with said information as soon as possible.
An important item to note is that even the best laid plans never go to plan. All agencies and entities involved worked together as a cohesive unit to accomplish a goal. I couldn’t be prouder of the effort of each individual and agency that assisted in this effort. The spreading of misinformation and anger amongst social media platforms is uncalled for and quite frankly a shame, and a disservice to this community, considering the outcome of this event.
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