Tó Hajiileehé residents say delayed police response leaves communities at risk
ALBUQUERQUE
When a person walked toward To’Hajiilee Community School carrying a rifle, administrator Willinda Castillo locked down the campus, called 911 and waited for help that did not come quickly.
Her emergency call was routed first to Albuquerque, then dispatched back to Crownpoint, more than 120 miles away.
Castillo said students remained sheltered in darkened classrooms from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. Some had to use the restroom inside those rooms while teachers stood guard and waited for a police response slowed by distance, jurisdiction and a public safety system residents say has failed their community for years.
“Navajo Nation police won’t be there in a couple hours. They’re leaving Gallup,” Castillo told a room of federal, state and tribal officials gathered at the school on a Friday evening.
To read the full article, please see the April 9, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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