Three people were killed and six people, including two police officers, were injured Monday after an 18-year-old gunman opened fire in a New Mexico neighborhood.
The suspect, who has not been named, reportedly began shooting just before 11 a.m. Monday and used multiple weapons, including an AR-15 type rifle.
New footage has shown the moment the suspected shooter was killed by law enforcement in a churchyard on the avenue where the bulk of the attack took place.
The anonymous gunman, all in black, is seen wandering in a church courtyard before video – filmed several meters away – shows him collapsing to the ground.
A witness told local media he saw the gunman fire more than 100 rounds in the first 20 minutes of the attack.
In a video message on Monday, Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said the suspect “roamed” the neighborhood before randomly firing bullets at cars in homes during the attack.
Two officers were shot, one from the Farmington Police Department and the other from the New Mexico State Police. Both were taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center and treated for their injuries, but are believed to be in stable condition.
Several civilians were injured and several vehicles and houses were reportedly hit by bullets.
One of the victims was reportedly a 35-year-old man who had been shot in the arm.
Four nearby schools were taken under lockdown at the request of the Farmington Police Department within 15 minutes of the attack beginning, according to Farmington Municipal Schools.
Farmington is a medium-sized town about 150 miles northwest of Albuquerque and about 10 miles south of New Mexico’s border with Colorado.
A person claiming to work at San Juan Regional Medical Center described on Facebook the moment an injured officer arrived at the facility.
“I know we saw the first police cars drive in and one of them pulled an officer out of the back seat and dragged him inside,” they wrote.
‘The ambulance entrance is right next to my window. Many ambulances came in and out. Several EMS staff hugging and crying. The whole hospital in lockdown. It made me very sad’ ‘, they added.
Community members hold candles during a prayer vigil at Hills Church on May 15, 2023 in Farmington
Farmington City Council members Jeanine Bingham-Kelly, second from left, Linda Rodgers, center, and Sean Sharer, right, attend a vigil at Hills Church Farmington on Monday
Law enforcement is investigating the scene of a shooting on North Dustin Avenue in Farmington on Monday
Investigators work along a residential street after a fatal shooting Monday
Hank Shirley, who lives a block from the scene of the shooting, said he was at home watching TV when he heard a series of gunfire which he described as a prolonged shooting .
‘When I heard that I told my daughter to go down to the basement and take the baby down to the basement,’ Shirley told The Daily Times.
Several minutes after the gunfire ended, he said he heard sirens and saw emergency vehicles approaching.
Chief Hebbe said “during the event, the suspect walked the neighborhood up to a quarter of a mile.”
Law enforcement officials continue to investigate motive.
Kyle Watchman told the Journal he was inside his house on Dustin Avenue – where police were first called – when he heard gunshots start ringing out.
“I walked out of my house wondering what was going on and I see the guy casually walking down the street, shooting at cars, holding a handgun with an extended clip.” he said. “I don’t know he was just hunting.”
Kandi Brammell, who lives next to the church where the gunman’s body was found, said she too heard gunshots just before 11 a.m.
“At first we just heard one and thought it might be fireworks, but as they got closer we know it wasn’t fireworks. “, she said.
Brammell added that she and a friend left her house and saw an all-black man walking around the church yard screaming. She then saw him “walking down the street firing at random from an automatic long gun across the street.”
A view looking north along Dustin Avenue, where the mass shooting took place
Police are responding to the scene, according to the ATF in Phoenix
Four schools were placed under quarantine at the request of the Farmington Police Department around 11:15 a.m. Monday
On Monday night, Farmington Mayor Nate Duckett released a statement expressing his sorrow over “the horrific tragedy that has claimed the lives of three innocent citizens and injured several others.”
“The act of violence left us reeling with anguish and disbelief,” he said.
In an unrelated incident four weeks ago, Farmington police drove to the wrong address and shot and killed an innocent man.
