Watch Bernalillo County New Mexico Deputies Face Scary Standoff with Brothers, 7 and 9

What to know

Bernalillo County sheriff's deputies safely resolved a situation in which two brothers, ages 7 and 9, were handling a loaded firearm.
One of the boys raised the gun at deputies and pulled the trigger. The gun malfunctioned, but had it gone off, "our deputies could have taken deadly force. That would not have gone well with anybody in the nation," said Sheriff John Allen.
No charges have been filed against the children or parent, but Allen said there could future legal action.

By Matthew Reisen

Source Albuquerque Journal, N.M.

Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office deputies ordered the suspects to drop the handgun. They tried to de-escalate the situation and discussed options among themselves, like firing a less-lethal round or rushing the armed duo.

Over several minutes, two brothers, ages 7 and 9, passed the fully loaded firearm back and forth. The boys, clad in pajamas, sometimes wrestled with the gun, as if it was nothing more than a doll.

The deputies fired a less-lethal round to distract the boys, and one of them raised the gun and pulled the trigger. Sheriff John Allen said the gun malfunctioned, and had it gone off, "our deputies could have taken deadly force. That would not have gone well with anybody in the nation."

During a briefing Thursday, Allen used the Feb. 16 incident — which he said would "shock the conscience of Bernalillo County" — to detail the steps BCSO's Behavioral Health Unit had taken to assist the family. The wraparound approach included providing everything from trauma therapy and parenting skills to grocery cards and rides to appointments.

Prior to the incident, Allen said BCSO had been called to the home at least 50 times due to issues with the boys and their family.

No charges have been filed against the children, who were detained safely, or the parent in the case. Deputy Deanna Aragon, a BCSO spokesperson, said the children have not been removed from the home, but the gun was seized.

BCSO would not identify the boys, their parent, or where the incident occurred, she said, "out of respect for the family and to support ongoing efforts to connect them with the resources and assistance they need." BCSO also would not say how the children got the gun and were very vague about the circumstances.

Allen said, however, that the boys "were taught how to use the firearm" and had learned the behavior they displayed that day. He said, down the road, they will look at criminal charges— like the Benny Hargrove law— for those involved.

'Our future'

Allen said the first priority was to get the family help so the boys can succeed.

"Children are our future, and we know one side is going to say, 'Lock them in jail.' They're 7 and 9 years old. I told you before, numerous times in numerous interviews, that I understand the frontal lobe," he said, referring to the lack of brain development and decision-making skills at that age.

Allen, who has taken a tough stance against juvenile crime, said if the boys were several years older, "we'd probably be speaking differently and doing it the reverse route."

He continued, "Arresting people isn't the only way out of this crisis of juvenile crime. ... You have to look at it from a bunch of different avenues and use the resources you have, and then criminal elements can come later."

Behavioral Health Unit Clinical Manager Michael Lucero said the unit, which includes law enforcement, clinicians and paramedics, immediately went to the home to assist the family with "numerous issues they're experiencing" and got the boys psychiatric evaluations.

Lucero said the unit takes a holistic approach, from considering medical conditions and traumas to safety concerns and quality-of-life issues. Even with all 13 Behavioral Health Unit members involved, he said they still ran into barriers along the way.

Medicaid was denied to one boy for being too young, while they faced delays of up to six weeks for getting the boys into treatment and services. Lucero said they found workarounds to get the children and parent, who had an extensive history of trauma, the help they need — for the most part.

"As you can imagine, if you're in crisis and you're suffering from major mental illness and possibly co-occurring disorders such as substance use, it's very difficult to navigate multiple systems," he said. "And we have highly educated, highly skilled people on this team, and it took all of us just to navigate multiple systems, and we are still running into barriers while working this case."

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