Stagecoach Elementary School (1498 Freedom Dr.) went into a lockdown on the morning of Aug. 23 when Gallup Police responded to a call about shots fired in the area of Sagebrush Place Apartments (650 Dani Drive).

Officers made contact with the caller around 9 am.

The caller explained that he discovered an unknown male inside his vehicle at the apartment complex and when he confronted him, the person inside his vehicle pulled out a firearm. Startled by the response, he left the area, but said he heard two gunshots.

Officers set up a perimeter to search for the suspect and the school was placed on lockdown during the pursuit.

Officers of the Gallup Police Department located the...

A multi-agency effort led to the early morning arrest of alleged wanted murderer Josiah Smith in Gamerco.

The McKinley County Sheriff's Office, Gallup Police Department, and the FBI were able to locate Josiah Smith, 27, from Smith Lake, on Aug. 21 around 7 am.

According to McKinley County Undersheriff James Maiorano, Smith had an outstanding warrant for a murder that was connected to a shooting that happened in Church Rock earlier this year. That case is being handled by the FBI.

Smith was taken into custody without any incident or injury.

On May 17 Smith allegedly shot and killed a man by firing into a window from outside a Church Rock home.

Smith is an enrolled member of the Navajo...

A man who had been convicted of the rape of a child in Pennsylvania was found in Gamerco on Aug. 20 around 3:30 pm.

The McKinley County Sheriff's Office had been given a photo of Andres Cortez, 40, and his information so that they could be on the look out for him. According to McKinley County Undersheriff James Maiorano, Cortez had an outstanding warrant from Pennsylvania because he hadn't registered as a sex offender and he broke his parole by fleeing to New Mexico.

"We worked diligently with the U.S. Marshals Service to track this guy down and get him back to prison, where he belongs," Maiorano said in a statement given to the Sun.

McKinley County Sheriff's Deputy Johnson Lee was the...

Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer joined Navajo Code Talkers Samuel F. Sandoval, Thomas H. Begay, and former Chairman of the Navajo Nation Peter MacDonald, Sr., Arizona State Sen. Jamescita Peshlakai, and Arizona House of Representatives Speaker Russell Bowers on Thursday, at the Arizona State Capitol, as Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed SB 1802 into law, recognizing Aug. 14 as "National Navajo Code Talkers Day" and a state holiday.

During World War II, the Navajo Code Talkers answered the call to defend the United States of America using the impenetrable code based on the Navajo language that is widely acknowledged as a deciding factor in the war effort. On July 28, 1982, former...