A heavily armed 18-year-old New Mexico man opened fire in Farmington, in the state’s northwest corner, Monday morning, killing three people and injuring several others before he was confronted and killed.
Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe provided a video update late Monday night, saying investigators believe there was only “one suspect that we were able to stop” and that the shooting “appears to be purely random.”
“There was no schools, no churches, no individuals targeted,” Hebbe said. “The suspect roamed throughout the neighborhood up to a quarter of a mile. At least six houses and three cars were shot in the course of the event as the suspect randomly fired at whatever entered his head to shoot at.”
The gunman used at least three weapons, Hebbe said, including an AR-style rifle.
Officers from three agencies — Farmington Police, New Mexico State Police, and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office — located the suspect within minutes of the first calls, which came in just before 11 a.m., and killed him.
At least six people were wounded, two of them police officers, as CrimeOnline previously reported. A Farmington officer was taken to the hospital where he was treated and released, and a state trooper drove himself to the hospital and remained hospitalized late Monday but was “doing well,” Hebbe said.
Investigators have not released the names of the suspect or any of the victims, and Hebbe noted investigators will need time to sort out exactly what happened and why.
“I don’t even know what to say. How do you even address it?” Hebbe said at one point before adding that it’s “a devastating day for our community in so many ways.”
Hebbe said that information would be released as investigators made it available, and a news conference is expected Tuesday afternoon to provide an update.
Meanwhile, Farmington residents gathered Monday night for a candlelit vigil for the victims, KOAT reported.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Investigators work along a residential street following a deadly shooting on May 15, 2023, in Farmington, New Mexico. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)]
