Adrian Hedden and Moriah Lovato | Artesia Daily Press

Editors note: Stay with the Artesia Daily Press for updates as information is made available.

Artesia High School was temporarily placed on a “shelter in place” order by local police Tuesday afternoon after authorities said they were investigating a potential shooting threat.

Investigators later discovered the call came from Louisiana and alleged that it was made to schools throughout the U.S. including at least one more in New Mexico at Ruidoso High School.

By Tuesday night, the call was deemed to be not credible, police said, but led to Artesia High and Junior High schools being let out early, following a brief shelter-in-place order which asked students and staff to remain in classrooms until further notice.

The caller was described as an unknown person who contacted the high school via telephone and said there would be a school shooting on Tuesday, said Commander Pete Quinoes with the Artesia Police Department.

He said the caller did not give a specific time or location, and that police were working to identify the person who made the call.

Investigators were notified of the possible threat at about 1:15 p.m. by a school resource officer and gave the shelter in place order “out of an abundance of precaution.”

Shelter in place means students and staff within school buildings were asked to stay in their classrooms and not move around campuses.

The incident was being investigated by the Artesia Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division along with school resource officers, the post read.

At least one officer was deployed to each school in the district, police said.

An alert sent out at 1:53 p.m. to parents of students in the district said classes were proceeding as normal, but that entrances to each school were secured amid the potential threat.

“At this time, there is no confirmed or credible threat, and the investigation is ongoing,” read a statement from the police department posted on Facebook at about 2 p.m. “The safety of students, staff, and the community remains our highest priority.”

Police Chief Kirk Roberts addressed the incident during the Tuesday, April 14 Artesia City Council, commending multiple law enforcement agencies for a quick response.

He said the U.S. Border Patrol and New Mexico State Police aided local police in investigating the call. Artesia Police Department (APD) determined the call came from Louisiana.

Chief Roberts reported the caller threatened multiple schools across the country, labelling the threat as “swatting”, a fake emergency call designed to trigger a heavy police response.

In response to praise from the council for APD’s decisive reaction, Chief Roberts used the positive feedback to commend a healthy relationship with the Artesia Public School District and the department’s habit of training alongside dispatch, fire and other emergency services.

“Building relationships gets you to a point where you can do this kind of stuff – where we can react quickly,” he said.

Ruidoso Municipal Schools in a Tuesday statement on Facebook said the Ruidoso Police Department received a similar “threat” against Ruidoso High School on the night of April 13, which was being investigated by law enforcement.

“We appreciate quick communication and the partnership with our school resource officer and the Ruidoso Police Department in addressing this matter,” read the statement. “We encourage all students and families to report any concerns immediately to school staff so that they can be addressed quickly and appropriately.”

Staff Reports

Gordon Snidow, considered one of the most popular Western-themed artists of his generation, died Sunday, April 12, at his home in Ruidoso. He was 89.

“He was an incredible human being with so much natural talent and ability,” said Snidow’s former wife Grace Griffin Snidow, who was married to the artist for 19 years and maintains a website chronicling his work.

“His paintings are so easy to market because they can tell an entire story of a subject without words,” she said. “There are so very few artists that captured the true contemporary Western way of life better than Gordon Snidow.”

Snidow was born in Paris, Missouri, in 1936. His family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he grew up hearing stories about Western cowboys. His talent for drawing and sketching was obvious at a young age.

He attended the ArtCenter College of Design in California, where family members say he developed the technical discipline that would define his work, graduating in 1959 and going on to become a charter member of the Cowboy Artists of America.

After graduation, Snidow moved to Albuquerque and worked for Sandia National Laboratories. But his life soon revolved around Western art, leading him to relocate in Ruidoso to take up his passion full time.

Snidow’s work has been shown around the world, including Russia, France, England, China and Germany, and his paintings hang in the permanent collections of numerous museums, according to Griffin Snidow’s website.

A retrospective featuring the artist’s sketches and paintings had a 45-day showing in 2003 at the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building in Washington D.C.

Also in 2003, the New Mexico Legislature named him “Artist of the American West.” He received the 1998 New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.

Some of Snidow’s most famous subjects were shown holding a beer can. “Colorado Coolade,” a portrait of a ranch hand sitting on a fence enjoying a brew, is one of a series of paintings commissioned by Coors Brewing Company in the 1970s. Prints from that series remain valuable collector’s items today.

According to ArtzLine, an online Western art gallery website, Snidow’s artwork recorded “every aspect of his time. Those include his American woman series, the homeless, wildlife, and one specific work recognizable anywhere in the country today – an adobe wall covered with graffiti. All parts of his view of the “whole fabric” of the modern West. He paints it not as he would like it to be, but the way it is – warts and all.”

Snidow’s son, Steven Snidow, offered a personal perspective on his father’s life and work.

“Not long ago when asked about his career my dad stated that each next piece, like each next day, he wanted to ‘be better,’” Steven said. “I think we see this in his body of work and in his unwavering commitment to not only his craft, his art, but the lived truth of the American West.

“As he stated, he started his career with the white-faced Hereford and ended it with the black angus on the range. He did not like the ranches being populated with wind turbines and other more modern technology. I believe he painted what he saw – people meeting the challenge of the day, every day, as he himself did.”

In addition to son Steven, 60, of Ruidoso, Gordon Snidow is survived by two other children – Chris Snidow, 67, of Ruidoso and Laurie Snidow, 63, of Dallas, Texas.

Editor’s note: For full coverage of Gregg Hull’s campaign event, check back with the Artesia Daily Press in print and online.

Gregg Hull touted his record of bringing new industries into his community in hopes of earning the Republican nomination for governor.

He was elected to his third term as mayor of Rio Rancho in 2022 and is one of two frontrunners in this year’s GOP Primary Election on June 2, hoping to take on the Democratic nominee in the November General Election.

The winner will replace Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who was term limited and will leave office at the end of 2026.

At a Tuesday, April 14 morning gathering at coffee shop Kith and Kin in Artesia of about 10 residents and government leaders, Hull, 59, pointed to increases in Rio Rancho’s local industries such as aerospace and manufacturing, which he said he supported as mayor. 

“The business climate in Rio Rancho was just horrible,” Hull said of the city before he was elected. “When I started complaining about it, people started saying I should do something about. I realized it’s just like running a small business.”

Photos by Mike Smith, Artesia Daily Press

The Combat Hero Bike Build’s (CHBB) “American Hero Honor Rides” stopped in Artesia Tuesday afternoon.

“Our goal is to enhance the motorcycle experience of our heroes and supporters,” read the organization’s website.

The rides are designed to raise awareness of sacrifices made by the military and first responders.

The ride started Sunday in Phoenix with overnight stays in Lordsburg and Alamogordo.

Tuesday in Artesia the motorcycles ventured through downtown as the trip concludes in Boerne, Texas Friday as a custom-made motorcycle will be presented to a veteran.