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Police identify gunman, three victims in Farmington shooting

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Four people, including the alleged gunman, were killed during a shooting in Farmington, N.M.,  May 16.

The shooter has been identified as Beau Wilson; an 18-year-old Farmington High School senior.

Around 11 am, three Farmington Police Officers were eating lunch when they received a call about shots fired along North Dustin Avenue between Apache and Ute streets. During a press conference held May 16, Farmington Mayor Nathan Duckett said the officers did not have time to put on their body armor.

According to authorities, Wilson was staying in a home in the area. He reportedly opened fire on houses and cars in the area “at random.” A Ring doorbell camera caught the first round of shots a little bit before 11 am. Over 100 calls about the incident reportedly came into the Farmington Police Department.

Farmington Deputy Police Chief Baric Crum said the crime scene was “nearly a quarter-mile.” From the first initial shot to the moment Wilson was shot and killed, the incident only lasted eight minutes.

A motive is unknown at this point.

Three women were shot and killed in the incident: Shirley Voita, 79, Gwendolyn Schofield, 97, and Melody Ivie, 73. Schofield and Ivie, who were mother and daughter, were traveling together when the incident occurred.

Six people, including two police officers — Farmington Police Sgt. Rachel Discenza and New Mexico State Police Officer Andreas Stamatiadis — were injured, and transported to the San Juan Regional Medical Center. Stamatiadis, who was shot while driving to the scene, and the four civilians were treated and released from the hospital. Discenza is reportedly recovering from a wound to her pelvis.

Five people were reportedly treated at the scene for injuries such as cuts from flying glass.

When he was answering questions from the press, Chum said that Wilson had three guns, including an assault-style rifle, on him at the time of incident. He reportedly legally purchased the assault-style rifle in December, a month after his 18th birthday.

Crum said a family member of Wilson’s owned the other two guns.

“The event is difficult to understand,” Farmington Police Chief Hebbe said. “We are doing the best that we can [to] piece through [evidence], talk with family members of the suspect, piece through what was going on, look through the evidence to figure out what the motivation was.”

During the press conference, Duckett made sure to mention Farmington’s resilience.

“We are a resilient community, a community that cares for each other. In the face of adversity, we must stand together, comfort one another, and make a determined effort to heal these wounds so we can emerge stronger and not allow this act of violence to define us,” he said.

The investigation into this incident is ongoing, and more details will be published as they become available.

Staff Reports

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