a day ago
These security improvements could be coming to UNM on heels of July shooting
Aug. 19—The University of New Mexico Board of Regents approved over $2 million in security upgrades Tuesday, roughly three weeks after a 14-year-old boy was killed on campus, bringing the state's flagship college national attention.
The upgrade would pay for an update to UNM's campus-wide alarm system. It now goes to the state's Higher Education Department and the Board of Finance for approval.
During the first Board of Regents meeting this school year, one day after classes resumed, UNM President Garnett Stokes used her president's report portion of the meeting to discuss the need to improve safety on campus.
"How do we maintain campus life, maintain the life experience of being a college student or working on a college campus at the same time we deal with the very real fact that we have an issue with crime and drugs and guns," Stokes said.
During the early hours of July 25, 14-year-old Michael Lamotte was fatally shot in a dorm room, allegedly by John Fuentes, who prosecutors said was high on LSD, cocaine, marijuana and under the influence of alcohol while hanging out with three other teenagers. Fuentes' mother also made a frantic 911 call that morning, in which she states he is hallucinating.
Police arrived at the apartment hours later and discovered Lamotte's body after being alerted to the shooting.
In addition to the security upgrades that the university's governing board approved, Stokes said the university would ask the Legislature for $5 million to redesign high-traffic areas, introduce more key card entries and build security gates. Stokes also said that the university has been shutting down campus access from Central Avenue at the intersections of Princeton, Stanford and Yale each day from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
She said UNM is looking to crack down on non-students' access to residence halls, possibly requiring students living on campus to fill out a form if they have guests.
The investment approved by the board on Tuesday marks the latest boost in security the urban campus has made in the last five years, totaling some $20 million, according to documents shared with the Journal. Among the upgrades were alarms, cameras and improved technology for the campus police department, including body cameras and officer training.
The recent July shooting is not the first high-profile one to happen on campus. In 2022, New Mexico State University basketball player Mike Peake fatally shot UNM student Brandon Travis outside the dorms after Travis and his friends attacked Peake.
"There is a need for educating our community members, and especially our students, to be speaking up," Stokes said. "To not be apathetic about guns and drugs or other concerns on our campus."
