(Farmington) Three people were killed and at least seven others, including two police officers, were injured on Monday when an 18-year-old young man opened fire in a community in northwestern New Mexico, United States , before being shot dead by the police.
The shooting took place around 11 a.m. Monday in Farmington, a city of about 50,000 people.
Officers responding to the scene after receiving multiple 911 calls came across “a chaotic scene” where a man was shooting at passers-by on a residential street, Farmington Deputy Police Chief Baric Crum said. during a press conference.
Police confronted the suspect before shooting him dead.
Mr Crum did not identify the suspect and added that he did not know the age of any of the victims.
The two officers who were injured and then hospitalized were in stable condition, according to Crum. Farmington Mayor Nate Duckett said the two officers were hit by gunfire, but their injuries were not life-threatening.
“Today our community experienced a horrific tragedy that claimed the lives of three innocent citizens,” said Mr. Duckett.
“There are no other known threats at this time,” police said, adding that city, San Juan County and state officers were involved in the shooting.
As soon as the shots were reported Monday morning, schools across the city were placed under what local officials called a “preventive lockdown.”
Nick Akins, a teacher whose home is within the security perimeter erected by the police, described the neighborhood where the incident took place as a good place to live.
“I would have said it’s not the toughest neighborhood in town, but ultimately, maybe it is,” he said in an interview.
Seeing Farmington in the national spotlight for another mass shooting, on his street to boot, was surreal to him.
“You never think it’s going to happen back home, and all of a sudden, in a very small town, something like this is happening. »
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement that she prays for the families of the victims and that Monday’s incident “is yet another reminder of how gun violence destroys lives in our state and our country every day.
Farmington sits near New Mexico’s border with Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. In recent years, cafes and breweries have sprung up in the town center of this small town alongside decades-old businesses selling handicrafts, from silver jewelry to woolen weavings.
Last month, Farmington police shot and killed a man outside his front door after he drove to the wrong address in response to a domestic violence call.