SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The parents of a boy who pleaded no-contest to a 2014 Roswell school shooting have filed a lawsuit against New Mexico's child welfare agency, claiming it violated his civil rights.
The lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Santa Fe makes accusations against the state-run Youth Diagnostic and Development Center where the 14-year-old boy has been held for the past three years, The Santa Fe New Mexican reported on Wednesday.
The lawsuit claims the facility has failed to address the boy's medical conditions, has offered inadequate education, has not provided sufficient mental health services and has denied the boy's requests to speak with his parents by telephone.
The boy was placed in the facility after he was given the maximum sentence of detention up to the age of 21. The boy, who was 12 at the time, was sentenced for the shooting at the Berrendo Middle School gym where two students were injured. Authorities said he brought a modified shotgun to school and opened fire on students as they waited for classes to begin.
The boy's family claims he is not showing any signs of mental illness, and he is no longer a danger to society. Despite his improvement, the state facility has refused to allow him in front of a parole board, according to the lawsuit.
Officials with the state Children, Youth and Families Department said the agency did not receive the lawsuit on Wednesday, and they could not comment on the case.