13-year-old boy charged with threatening to ‘shoot up’ a Las Cruces middle school

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- A 13-year-old Las Cruces boy was arrested Wednesday and charged after a threat was relayed by phone to “shoot up the school" he attends as a seventh grader, according to authorities.

Police said the boy, whose identity was not being released because of his age, was taken into custody about 1 p.m. at Lynn Community Middle School.

Authorities also placed the school on lockdown for about an hour as they searched for weapons, but found none. A Las Cruces police spokesman said "the threat was determined to be a hoax."

A text message from school officials to parents about the noon-hour lockdown said "all students and staff were safe."