A New Mexico teenager was identified by police Tuesday as the gunman who killed three elderly people, in a «purely random» manner, before he was fatally shot by responding officers.
Beau Wilson, 18, was fatally shot by Farmington police who confronted him shortly after 11 a.m. MT Monday, Deputy Police Chief Kyle Dowdy told reporters.
Wilson was a student at Farmington High School, which was scheduled to hold graduation ceremonies Tuesday.
Police identified the three slain women as Shirley Voita, 79, Melody Ivie, 73, and Gwendolyn Schofield, 97. Schofield was Ivie’s mother.
«Shirley, Melody and Gwendolyn were valued members of our community and their untimely deaths have left a void that will never be filled,» Deputy Chief Baric Crum said.
A doorbell camera captured what police believe were Wilson’s first shots, fired at 10:56 a.m., a minute before Farmington police officers were dispatched to the neighborhood near Ute Street and Dustin Avenue, according to Dowdy.
Officers arrived at 11:02 a.m. and found Wilson opening fire, before the shooter was shot down at 11:06 a.m., police said.
“The suspect was shot and almost simultaneously, an officer was also shot,” Dowdy said.
The gunman appeared to fire at the victims at random, as at least six houses and three cars were hit by gunfire, police said.
And so far police have been unable to establish any connection between Wilson and the three murder victims.
“It appears to be purely random and had no specific targets or motives that we can identify at this time,” Dowdy said.
Two members of the police, officers from the Farmington department and one from the state police, were injured but have been released from the hospital, according to Mayor Nate Duckett.
San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari said his agency is tasked with investigating the response of the police officer who fired 16 shots.
The teen used at least three weapons, including what chief Steve Hebbe called an AR-style rifle.
a representative of Farmington Municipal Schools He could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.
He beginning of high school it was scheduled to happen at 7 p.m. MT on Tuesday.
This is a developing story. Please check for updates.
Andres Blankstein and mayan brown contributed.