New Mexico authorities have identified the victims of Monday’s fatal shooting in Farmington and the 18-year-old gunman who killed them.
Farmington Deputy Police Chief Baric Crum said that 97-year-old Gwendolyn Schofield and her 73-year-old daughter, Melody Ivie, were killed, along with 79-year-old Shirley Volta. Schofield and Ivie were traveling in the same vehicle and were pronounced dead on the scene. Volta was taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Six other people were transported to the hospital, including two police officers. Those officers — identified as Farmington Police Sgt. Rachel Discenza and New Mexico State Police Officer Andreas Stamatiadas — have been released and are recovering. There were other people injured who were treated on the scene, Deputy Chief Baric Crum said, although most of those injuries came from shattered glass.
“We don’t have an accurate count of a number of individuals who were treated on scene,” he said.
All of the civilians who were shot were in vehicles, Crum said, although the suspect did fire at six houses. No one was injured inside the homes.
Officers arrived on the scene and confronted and killed the gunman, who was identified as Beau Wilson, a Farmington High School student.
Deputy Police Chief Kyle Dowdy told reporters that four Farmington officers fired 16 rounds at Wilson and that investigators have recovered at least 150 casings from the large crime scene, which covered about a quarter of a mile. The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office is handling the officer shooting portion of the incident.
Dowdy said that Wilson used several weapons, including an AR-style rifle, and that he had legally purchased one of them last November. As for the other weapons, he said, “We believe that a family members was the legal owner of those firearms.“
Investigators have not yet determined a motive for the shooting or found any writings to indicate what might have prompted the rampage. Dowdy said there was some indication from family members that mental health issues may have been a factor.
He also said Wilson had some minor infractions as a juvenile, but nothing that would put him “on our radar” or indicate he could have this kind of violent outburst. And, Dowdy said, the investigation hasn’t uncovered any link between Wilson and the victims.
“There’s nothing to suggest he knew any of the people,” he said.
The police department said it plans to hold daily briefings on the investigation for the time being. Police Chief Steve Hebbe, who recorded a video statement Monday night about the shooting, was in Pennsylvania for a family wedding and is on his way back to New Mexico, the Farmington Daily Times said.
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[Featured image: L-R, Gwendolyn Schofield, Melody Ivie, and Shirley Volta/KOB]