By Roger Lanse

On Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, at approximately 10:15 a.m., the San Lorenzo Elementary School was locked down after Grant County Sheriff's Office deputies were dispatched to a reported domestic disturbance at 218 Laguna del Oso, Mimbres. A mother of two children at the school told the Beat she received a mass text informing her of the lockdown sometime between 10 and 11 a.m., it was updated throughout the day, and received a final text at 2:37 p.m. informing her the lockdown had been lifted.

According to GCSO blotter and offense reports, deputies were told by the Grant County Regional Dispatch Authority that Francis McCoy, 84, of the address, had shot at his wife "with his pistol" and missed and she was hiding outside. When deputies arrived, the victim, according to the reports, stated her husband "had been drinking" and "He pulled a gun out of the bedside table and pointed it at my head and fired one round. I don't know how it didn't hit me, but I was able to push myself away and grab my phone and run out the front door." She told deputies the bullet passed by her head and into the wall. She also stated her husband was still inside the residence.

Other deputies, and officers from the New Mexico State Police, including the NMSP Tactical Team, arrived on scene at various times in the next hour and a half. After several hours, even utilizing a PA system, they were unsuccessful in establishing contact with McCoy inside the house. At about 3:15 p.m., they saw an elderly male walk out the back door of the residence, go into a shed behind the house and sit in a chair, continuing to be noncompliant to their commands and flipping them off. The reports said the male then got out of the chair, grabbed a can of beans off a shelf in the shed, and began to walk back toward the rear door of the residence. When issued more verbal commands McCoy stated, "I hate all of you."

At this point, a GCSO deputy and a NMSP officer jumped the fence and "apprehended McCoy with minimal force." As McCoy had fresh cuts on his hands and a bloody nose from being taken down, he was escorted to an EMS unit on scene and then to the Gila Regional Medical Center for medical clearance. McCoy was booked into the Grant County Detention Center on a charge of attempted murder and assault with intent to commit a felony upon a household member. He remains in custody as of Feb. 17, 2024, according to GCDC staff.

Two firearms were recovered by deputies: a .41 Magnum Ruger Blackhawk revolver and a .22 Magnum DM derringer.