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DEMING – Signs declaring Deming schools “gun-free zones” came down recently while the school district moves toward bringing armed personnel to school sites.

Deming Public Schools Superintendent Arsenio Romero asked safety director Benny Jasso to remove the signs, which went up during the administration of Superintendent Harvielee Moore. He made the request during a school board special meeting and work session in early March.

That morning, a report of possible gunfire near Columbus Elementary School resulted in an hourlong lockdown of the campus while Luna County Sheriff’s deputies, Border Patrol officers, and New Mexico State Police swept the area on the ground and by helicopter.

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No evidence of gunfire or an active shooter was found, but Jasso said the event was a “good drill,” praising school staff and students for following security protocols and law enforcement agencies for arriving in “four to five minutes.” The entire campus, with more than 630 students, was inspected and cleared within half an hour.

Still the school board and district officials were interested in bringing armed School Resource Officers to local schools.

Luna County Sheriff Kelly Gannaway told the Headlight he would like to assign a resource officer to the schools and has already implemented weekly walk-throughs at school sites.

Deming Police Chief Bobby Orosco noted that at one time, his department had provided School Resource Officers and he would like to resume the program.

Jasso provided data on fire drills, evacuation, and lockdown drills conducted so far in the current school year across the district, which were on pace to exceed required code drills for the school year.

Jasso said the numbers are high because of actual threats and incidents, with seven shelter-in-place calls at Bataan Elementary alone and five lockdowns at Red Mountain Middle School in the current academic year.

Deming was the location of a fatal school shooting on November 19, 1999, at what was then Deming Middle School. Student Araceli Tena was killed.