Video Shows Brothers, 7 and 9, Engaged in Armed Standoff with Police After Refusing to Turn Over Loaded Gun

• On Feb. 16, deputies with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office in New Mexico responded to a report of two boys, ages 7 and 9, with a loaded gun
• Deputies tracked down the boys and a standoff ensued, during which one of the boys allegedly pulled the trigger while aiming at a deputy — but the gun jammed, said the BCSO
• The brothers were eventually apprehended after a sharp shooter fired non-lethal rounds in their direction, forcing them to retreat

Police in New Mexico found themselves in a difficult situation when they got into a standoff with two young brothers who were allegedly armed with a loaded gun.

Video shows deputies with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office arriving on the scene Feb. 16 and attempting to talk to the boys, who were 7 and 9 at the time.

“Put it down baby,” a female deputy says to the brothers.

That deputy is seen on the video imploring the brothers to put down the weapon three more times, but the two refuse and instead are seen continuing to play with the weapon and a few times squaring up as if they might use the firearm.

The footage of the brothers was captured by a drone, which deputies used so that they could monitor the situation by keeping eyes on the brothers without having to stand in the line of fire.

That footage shows the brothers fighting over who gets to hold the gun for much of the standoff and ignoring deputies as they urge the brothers to cooperate.

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At one point in the video, one of the two brothers can be seen getting into a shooting stance and pointing the gun at deputies. Sheriff John Allen said at a press conference that the boy allegedly pulled the trigger as well, but a device malfunction jammed up the weapon and the bullet failed to load into the chamber of the gun.

Allen said at that press conference that if a member of law enforcement had been shot, his deputies might have been forced to consider using deadly force.

“That would not have gone well with anybody in the nation,” Allen said.

The video shows that deputies decided to take a more aggressive approach after one of the brothers responded to their verbal requests to drop the weapon by saying: “F— that.”

At that same moment, a sharpshooter could be seen arriving on the scene and starting to set up his weapon about 50 yards away from the brothers.

The video shows the brothers starting to engage with deputies after seeing that weapon with its large scope, and asking if they can see the “cannon.”

Deputies tried to use the brothers’ interest in the “cannon” to get them to put down their weapon, and are seen in the video telling the boys that they can see the weapon if they drop the gun.

The brothers briefly engage with deputies, but the video shows the two quickly losing interest and once again ignoring their requests.

Seconds later, the sharpshooter can be heard on the video yelling “40, 40, 40,” and then firing a non-lethal shot that ricochets off a wall and lands less than a foot from where the two boys are standing.

The video shows one brother take cover in between what appears to be a covered HVAC unit and a home, while the other points the gun directly at deputies.

Approximately 5 seconds later the shooter again yells “40, 40, 40” and fires a bullet that lands even closer and sends the remaining brother running to join his brother.

After that shot is fired all deputies on the scene begin to scream at the brothers to drop the weapon. In the video, one man can be heard yelling: “Put down the f—ing gun.”:

The deputies are seen surrounding the brothers on the video as this is happening, and Allen then rushes in unarmed and is able to reach in and disarm the brothers by yanking the gun out of one of their hands.

Allen applauded his deputies for how they diffused the situation and dealt with the two young brothers during his press conference and in a press release laying out how the agency hopes to deal with matters involving individuals who may have mental health issues moving forward.

“BCSO remains committed to improving response efforts for individuals in crisis,” Allen wrote in that release. He went on to say that the agency is dedicated to “building stronger, community-focused behavioral health services’ for citizens.