Authorities say an 18-year-old armed with at least three firearms roamed a community in northwestern New Mexico on Monday, randomly firing at vehicles and residences, murdering three people and injuring six others, including two police officers, before being slain.
The shootings occurred at 11 a.m. in Farmington, a 50,000-person city near the Four Corners - where New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado meet - that serves as a supply line and residential community for the region's oil and natural gas industry.
New Mexico Gunman RandomlyShot at Cars, Houses
Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe stated in a video released Monday night that officers responding to reports of gunfire encountered the assailant within minutes and executed him with at least one shot.
The shooter discharged at least three weapons, including an "AR-style rifle," according to the witness. The massacre was "truly one of the most horrific and challenging days in Farmington's history as a community," he said, as per KHOU.
The identities of the shooter and the victims were not disclosed immediately. Investigators were still attempting to determine the attack's motivation by interviewing the shooter's family.
The suspect traversed the neighborhood for up to a quarter-mile during the incident. At least six houses and three vehicles were shot during the incident, as the suspect fired indiscriminately at whatever came into his mind.
Nick Akins, a middle school teacher whose home is located on a street that was cordoned off by police, characterized the neighborhood as a predominantly pleasant place to live, with various houses, short-term rental apartments, and churches.
Seeing Farmington in the national spotlight for another mass shooting was surreal for him, especially on his street.
CHRON said the response included the Sheriff's Office, the Farmington Police Department, and the state police. The ATF tweeted that agents from Phoenix were on their way to Farmington to assist with the investigation.
US Gun Violence
In recent years, cafes and distilleries have sprung up in downtown Farmington alongside businesses that have been in operation for decades and sell Native American handicrafts such as silver jewelry and wool weavings. Last month, Farmington police shot and killed a man at his front door while responding to a domestic violence call at the incorrect address.
The incident on Monday in New Mexico is the 225th mass shooting in the United States this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more persons, excluding the shooter, are shot or slain.
In a statement released on Monday, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said she was praying for the victims' families and that the incident "serves as a daily reminder of how gun violence destroys lives in our state and country."
Per USA Today, the governor's remarks reflect those previously made by the non-profit Everytown for Gun Safety, which stated that approximately 120 Americans are slain with firearms, and over 200 are shot daily.
