An 18-year-old gunman fired indiscriminately at homes and vehicles as he wandered down a residential street in Farmington, New Mexico, Monday morning, killing three people, including a 97-year-old woman and her daughter, before police arrived. police and kill the victim. suspect in a shooting, authorities said. Six other people, including two officers, were injured.
Police identified the suspect as Beau Wilson, a Farmington High School student who went on a rampage with three firearms, including an assault rifle. More than 100 rounds were fired between the suspect and police, with at least three officers rushing to the scene without body armor because the shooting began as they were heading to lunch, authorities said.
Authorities said Tuesday they were still investigating the motive. Deputy Chief Kyle Dowdy of the Farmington Police Department told a news conference that while the suspect had committed minor offenses when he was a minor, “there was nothing that rose to the level of a felony.” Chief Dowdy said police were still looking for notes or explanations the shooter may have left behind.
New Mexico shooting victims
Local emergency services received more than 100 calls when a shooting broke out at a sprawling scene that stretched about a quarter-mile along Dustin Avenue, authorities said.
Police identified the three victims who died as Shirley Volta, 79, Gwendolyn Schofield, 97, and Melody Ivie, 73. Ms. Schofield was Ms. Ivie’s mother. All three were shot as they were passing by in vehicles, authorities said.
“This is such a tragic event, it is overwhelming to the senses,” Chief Dowdy said. “I don’t care how old you are. I don’t care what else is going on in your life. Killing three innocent old women who were absolutely in no position to defend themselves will always be a tragedy.”
Ms. Ivie was well known for running a private preschool in Farmington that parents signed up for well in advance, said Brandy Brown, a local nurse whose daughter attended the school. “She had the purest servant’s heart,” Brown said in an interview. “She’s almost a legend.”
Several people who were injured in the shooting were treated at the San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington, Deputy Chief Baric Crum said. Others were treated on the spot.
Authorities received multiple reports of gunshots near Dustin Avenue and Ute Street just before 11 a.m. Monday, Chief Steve Hebbe of the Farmington Police Department said in a video statement released that evening, adding that the disturbance appeared to be “purely random.” Officers located the shooter in the 700 block of North Dustin Avenue, Chief Hebbe said, where he was shot and killed.
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Chief Hebbe said the gunman used at least three different weapons, including an “AR-style rifle,” a weapon commonly used in mass shootings, as he roamed the neighborhood, randomly shooting “at anything that came into his head to shoot him,” including at least six houses and three cars. The suspect turned 18 in October and legally purchased the assault rifle in November, Chief Dowdy said at a news conference Tuesday. The other weapons he used belonged to a relative.
The two injured officers, one from the Farmington Police Department and a state trooper were treated at the San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington, authorities said. The state police officer had been released Monday night and the other officer was “fine,” according to Chief Hebbe.
The shooting shocked the city of about 46,000 people, which is about 140 miles northwest of Albuquerque, near the Navajo Nation reservation. The city serves as a commercial hub for nearby oil-producing areas, as well as much of northwestern New Mexico.
Matt Mizell, the senior pastor of Hills Church, which organized a vigil for the victims Monday night, said the community, which also suffered a shooting at a nearby school in 2017, was reeling from the carnage. “It has shaken the community to the core,” he said.
Joseph Robledo, a 32-year-old tree trimmer, told The Associated Press that he had rushed to his house after learning that his wife and his 1-year-old daughter had taken refuge in the laundry room when shots rang out.
A bullet passed through his daughter’s window and bedroom, hitting no one, Robledo said, adding that he and others had administered first aid to a woman who appeared to have been injured while driving through the neighborhood. “We’ve been working in the garden all of last week,” Robledo told The AP. “I just thank God there’s no one out front.”
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said on Twitter that she was “deeply upset by the tragic violence” and that her administration “would not stop fighting the epidemic of gun violence.” In a joint statement, members of the New Mexico congressional delegation said they were “devastated” by the shooting, adding that they would continue to work to ensure federal resources were available.
“While Congress took important steps to combat gun violence last year through the bipartisan Safer Communities Act, today is a painful reminder that we must do more,” said the lawmakers, all Democrats. “We are committed to fighting for sensible gun safety measures that will keep New Mexicans safe.”
The shooting is being investigated by the Farmington Police Department, the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office and the New Mexico State Police. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded, its local Phoenix office said.
Last month, officers with the Farmington Police Department shot and killed a gunman while he was responding to a domestic violence call at the wrong house. In 2017, in the nearby town of Aztec, an Aztec High School alumnus fatally shot two students at the school before committing suicide.
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