Bennie J. Hargrove was a 13-year-old Black eighth-grader at Washington Middle School in Albuquerque. Remembered by family as funny, playful, and protective of his younger siblings, Bennie loved basketball and stood up for classmates during the school lunch hour on August 13, 2021. When he approached a fellow student, Juan Saucedo Jr., to tell him to stop bullying smaller students, Saucedo produced a gun he had brought to school and shot Bennie multiple times in front of other students. Bennie was taken to a nearby hospital and died of his injuries.

Saucedo, also 13 at the time, was arrested and initially charged with first-degree murder. On March 2, 2023, Saucedo, then 14, pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and was sentenced to remain in the custody of the Children, Youth and Families Department until he turns 21. Bennie’s family filed a wrongful death suit against Albuquerque Public Schools alleging mismanagement and that a resource officer had been warned Saucedo had a gun; the district settled with the family for $900,000 in November 2023 and agreed to implement an anti-bullying campaign.

Bennie’s death prompted legislative and community actions: the governor signed the Bennie Hargrove Gun Safety Act requiring safe firearm storage, and on May 18, 2023 the City of Albuquerque renamed the park beside Washington Middle School Bennie J Hargrove Park and planted a tribute Texas red oak in his honor. If anyone knew Bennie, his school routine, or saw what happened that day, please share information.