Using at least three weapons, including an AR-15-style rifle, the adolescent shooter who murdered three people and injured six others in New Mexico appeared to pick his victims at random as he prowled a neighborhood, according to investigators. He fired at homes, automobiles, and other objects before being fatally shot by police.
The attack leaves yet another American community “reeling in anguish and disbelief,” Farmington’s mayor said. Still, “there were no schools, no churches, no individuals targeted” Monday by the 18-year-old, its police chief said, nodding to the wider US scourge of gun violence that’s tallied 225 mass shootings in the first 20 weeks of the year.
Police Chief Steve Hebbe said in a video statement that investigators are still trying to piece together how the attack took place over a “wide and complex scene” that covers more than a quarter of a mile.
Before police arrived and fatally shot him, the assailant went through the neighborhood in this busy commercial area close to the Southwest’s Four Corners and “randomly fired at whatever entered his head to shoot at,” including houses and cars, he claimed Monday night.
The tweet below confirms the news of the shooting:
AR-15 Rifle Used for the Shooting
One of the weapons used by US mass shooters in recent, well-publicized massacres, such as the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting and a shooting in Uvalde, Texas, almost a year ago that killed 19 children and two teachers, was an AR-15-style rifle.
Authorities are talking to the gunman’s family and looking into any possible motives, Hebbe added.
One of the injured on Monday was a New Mexico State Police officer who, according to the chief, drove himself to a hospital and was still there as of Monday night. Another Farmington police officer was hurt and treated before leaving the hospital.
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Seven people were seen at Farmington’s San Juan Regional Medical Center, according to spokeswoman Laura Werbner. She chose not to comment on their health.
The White House, senators in Washington, officials of the Navajo Nation, and state mayors called Farmington Mayor Nate Duckett to offer their support, he said, adding: “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families during this incomprehensible time of pain and loss.”
“We are a resilient community, a community that cares for each other. In the face of adversity, we must stand together, comfort one another, and make a determined effort to heal these wounds so we can emerge stronger and not allow this act of violence to define us.” the mayor added.
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