A disturbing scene unfolded recently in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when Bernalillo County deputies were dispatched to safely disarm two armed children — a seven-year-old and a nine-year-old — who were seen holding a loaded handgun. While the specific incident actually occurred on Feb. 16, 2025, BCSO just released the footage last Thursday. According to a news bulletin from KOB4, the sheriff’s office says that this is just one example of the challenges they encounter every day.
The alarming footage was captured by a drone in the air, and sees two young brothers hiding from the police and brandishing a loaded handgun. One of the youngsters is wearing Minecraft pyjamas and the other is sporting a Star Wars top. You can hear one of the female deputies saying, “Put it down for me, okay?” Another officer exclaims, “You’re not in trouble, but we got to drop that and come talk to us, right?“
As the tense standoff continues, you can see the youngsters pass the loaded gun to each other, and hiding it behind their backs. “Put it down, baby. You’re okay. Can you just toss it to the side, babe? Let’s make this easy.” requests the concerned deputy. “We want to help you.”
Meanwhile, another officer who is closely monitoring the drone footage chips in, “I want to try to do a warning. Something. I just don’t want to f*cking… I really don’t want to hurt you, kid.” As tensions continue to mount, the police fire a non-lethal round near the proximity of where the children are hiding, making the two youngsters flinch. You can then hear a chorus of police officers instructing the armed children to “Drop it! Drop it! Drop the f*cking gun now! Danger! Danger! Danger!”
A second non-lethal round is fired, and the young kids appear extremely scared, hiding closely next to each other. After a few moments, a police officer then enters the frame and asks the children, “Drop it now.” In response, one of the brothers replies, “I don’t even have a gun,” though this is clearly not true, as the officer takes the loaded pistol from one of the youngsters.
With the clip circulating online, many viewers were shocked with the footage. One Redditor wrote, “Its crazy how they just keep passing it around“, with another adding, “it’s crazy how they barely cared about the shots being fired.” A third commenter reflected on their young mentality, penning, “They think they’re gonna respawn in their bedroom tomorrow morning. Little do they know…“
Interestingly, the sheriff’s office confirmed that their drone provided a critical vantage point and allowed them to manage the high-risk situation effectively. This helped enable them to get the gun away from the children without anyone getting hurt.
Prior to the incident, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office said they had been called to the home of the brothers “at least 50 times” for various other family issues, per NBC News. Thankfully, the boys are “OK” and they’re getting therapy, family services and juvenile probation. In addition, their parents are also getting therapy and legal representation.
