BREAKING: 28-year-old man suspected of bringing gun into Oate High School

28-year-old Joel Alfaro is being charged with a fourth-degree felony count of unlawful carrying a deadly weapon on school premises.

A security officer at Oñate High School noticed a man wearing a hoodie and acting suspicious inside the West Hallway of the High School. The school security officer tried to make contact with the man, later identified as Alfaro, but the suspect walked away and into a restroom.

A second school security officer responded to the hallway where both security officers confronted Alfaro inside the restroom and quickly learned that he was not a student or an employee at the school.

As the security officers tried to gather more information from Alfaro, they noticed he was carrying what appeared to be handgun in his shorts.

The security officers took possession of the handgun and held Alfaro until Las Cruces Police officers arrived and took custody of the suspect.

Oñate High School was placed on a brief lockdown during the incident.

Police determined that the handgun was a black 4.5mm BB gun. No shots were fired and no injuries were reported.

Alfaro was arrested and booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center where he’s initially being held without bond.