# @downinnadesert on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DbrIGyLkolL
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/68801274-downinnadesert-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/d98653b7f3.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-08-05T21:40:31.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Down In The Desert🌵 (@downinnadesert) — https://gondola.cc/downinnadesert

## Caption

Graciela Lopez shows up to Maryvale High School every night and puts a picture of her son back up.

Michael Montoya was 16 when he passed in the middle of class at Maryvale in August 2025. Another student, Chris Aguilar, is charged with first-degree and remains in custody. Police say he brought a four-inch pocketknife onto campus and accused Montoya of stealing a firearm. He has been charged, not convicted.

The memorial went up on the south side of the school in the weeks after. Lopez says the school helped her build it. It grew over the months, and this week it came down. She says she was told it had gotten too large and become a fire hazard. Arizona’s Family asked the district about it and was told it can’t comment because of pending litigation.

That litigation is hers. Lopez is suing Phoenix Union High School District over her son’s death, alleging the district cut school resource officers and set its weapons detectors to catch only large weapons. Those are claims in a lawsuit and the district has not answered them publicly.

The one-year mark is a few weeks out. Almost a year in, a mother is still coming back every night to put a picture on a wall.

What’s the right way for a school to handle something like this?

Via: AZFamily

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#Maryvale #Phoenix #Arizona #ArizonaNews #DownInnaDesert

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## Tags

maryvale, arizonanews, arizona, phoenix, downinnadesert

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