14-Year-Old Fatally Shoots High School Student In Fight Over Stolen Gun: Police

A 14-year-old boy in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been arrested in connection to the fatal shooting of a fellow student near the West Mesa High School campus Friday, police said.

Marcos Trejo was arrested by Albuquerque police at a West Side home Friday evening and charged with murder and tampering with evidence for allegedly shooting 16-year-old Andrew Burson, who had accused Trejo of stealing his gun, Albuquerque Journal reported.

Trejo was booked into the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center, Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said in a news release.

Officers were called to the high school Friday morning and found Burson with multiple gunshot wounds. An officer attempted life-saving measures, but the student died at the scene.

The cops noticed a group of teenagers arguing near where Burson was killed and approached the teens, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.

Police learned from the teens that Burson had accused Trejo of stealing his gun, described as a "ghost gun or Glock replica," which the 16-year-old had bought on the internet and assembled himself, the complaint said.

A day before the shooting, Burson posted on Snapchat, "some fool stole my gun, no big deal, just a minor setback," according to the complaint.

One of the teens told detectives that he and Trejo were walking near the school, and Trejo was "walking as if he had something in his shorts," which the teen said he believed was a gun.

Burson then arrived in his silver BMW with black rims and got out to confront Trejo, according to the unnamed witness.

Burson demanded that Trejo give him his stuff back and held him against the fence. Trejo managed to get away from Burson and ran southbound.

Burson chased after him, and Trejo pulled out a handgun and opened fire at the older teen, who then fell to the ground, the complaint said. Trejo fled the scene.

The witness told detectives he heard five to six gunshots.

Footage obtained from the security camera of a nearby business verified the witness accounts, police said.

Police arrested Trejo at his West Side home and took him to the police station, where the teen declined to talk to detectives without an attorney. It is unclear if the boy has obtained legal representation.

Police have not disclosed if the gun used in the shooting had been found.

Prosecutors have filed a motion to keep Trejo behind bars until his trial.

“There is conceivably a no more dangerous situation than students possessing firearms at school. At only 14 years old, (Trejo) was carrying a loaded firearm … and shot a classmate multiple times,” prosecutors wrote in the motion filed Saturday. “It is clear that (Trejo) has no appreciation for human life, and that he is an extremely dangerous and violent individual.”

Albuquerque police officials said they will have grief counselors at the school next week, KOB4 reported.

Following the shooting Friday, Mayor Tim Keller stated during a news conference, “It is the connection between a juvenile and a weapon that costs a life and we cannot have that in our city. I just want to close by saying this is a related conversation that has been happening all over America, and now we’re seeing it happen right here in Albuquerque.”