By Roger Lanse

The morning of Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, a concerned citizen contacted the Beat relative to a police presence that morning involving Grant County Sheriff's Office deputies and New Mexico State Police officers at Snell Middle School's parking lot and entrance doors in Bayard.

A GCSO lieutenant told the Beat, NMSP requested GCSO's assistance at Snell Middle School as a precautionary and proactive measure brought on by Friday's shooting of a 6-year-old boy in Hurley. The Beat was told all the schools in the Tri-City area were receiving similar protection, which would last "a couple of days."

The Beat has reached out to NMSP for comment but has not heard back.