By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, KEN RITTER and MORGAN LEE (Associated Press)
FARMINGTON, NM (AP) — An 18-year-old man armed with at least three rifles roamed a community in northwestern New Mexico and fired indiscriminately at cars and homes Monday, killing three people and injuring six others, including two police officers before he was killed, authorities said.
The shootings occurred around 11 a.m. in Farmington, a town of about 50,000 near the Four Corners — where New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado meet — a supply line and bedroom community for the region’s oil and natural gas industries.
Officers responding to reports of shots fired encountered the attacker within minutes and killed him with at least one shot, Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said in a video released Monday night. He said the gunman fired at least three weapons, including an “AR rifle.”
The shooting was “quite frankly one of the most horrific and difficult days Farmington has ever had as a community,” he said.
The identities of the gunman and victims were not immediately released.
Investigators were still struggling to determine a motive for the attack, including talking to the gunman’s family.
“But at the moment it seems to be purely random, that there were no schools, no churches and no individuals that were targeted,” Hebbe said. “During the event, the suspect roamed the neighborhood for up to a quarter of a mile. At least six houses and three cars were shot at during the event, with the suspect randomly firing at whatever came into his mind to shoot at.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement that she was praying for the families of the victims and that the incident is “another reminder of how gun violence destroys lives in our state and our country every day.”
Mayor Nate Duckett said in a statement that the shooting “has left us reeling with fear and disbelief.”
At Hills Church, just a few miles from the site of the attack, dozens of people gathered around a large metal cross as the sun set to pray on Monday. Some wrapped their arms around each other as they listened. Among those in attendance were the mayor and law enforcement officers.
Chief Pastor Matt Mizell spoke of living in a “dark and broken world” but told the crowd there was still hope and asked God to give them strength.
Officers began receiving reports of gunfire at about 10:57 a.m. The first officer arrived at 11:02 a.m. and three minutes later the gunman was killed, Hebbe said.
At first, officers thought there might be a second suspect and schools were closed “because we didn’t know where other suspects might be,” the chief said. However, it now appears that the 18-year-old acted alone, he said.
A Farmington officer was shot and taken to hospital where he was treated and released, while a police officer was also shot and drove himself to hospital where he remained and is doing well, Hebbe said. That officer would be in stable condition.
Joseph Robledo, a 32-year-old tree pruner, said he rushed home after learning his wife and 1-year-old daughter had taken shelter in the laundry room when gunshots rang out. A bullet passed through his daughter’s window and room, without hitting anyone.
Robledo jumped a fence to get in through the back door. In front of the door, he found an elderly woman on the street who had been injured while driving past. She appeared to have fallen out of her car, which continued to roll without her, he said.
“I went to check because the lady was just lying in the road, and to find out what the hell was going on,” Robledo said. He and others began to administer first aid.
Neighbors sent an arriving police officer to the suspect.
“We told (the officer), ‘He’s down there.’ … The agent just sprang into action right away,” Robledo said.
Robledo’s own family car was pierced with bullets.
‘We’ve been working in the garden for the past week. I just thank God no one was in the front,” he said.
‘Older people, of course, he didn’t feel sorry for them. Who says he would have sympathy for a small child,’ he said.
High school teacher Nick Akins, whose home is on a police-closed street, described the neighborhood as a mostly great place to live, with a mix of homes, short-term rental apartments, and churches.
“It’s not the roughest area in town, but it can be done,” he said. “We have great neighbors and rental properties, people who come and go. We don’t always know everyone.”
It was surreal for him to see Farmington in the national spotlight for yet another mass shooting, especially one that took place on his street.
“You never think it’s going to happen here and all of a sudden it comes here in a small town,” Akins said.
Hebbe said he was “incredibly proud” of the officers’ response, given the threat posed by the suspect, who was walking around, and the chaotic situation. Authorities received at least nine calls to “post the information wherever the suspect was,” he said.
The sheriff’s office, the Farmington Police Department and the state police all responded. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tweeted that Phoenix officers were heading to Farmington to assist with the investigation.
Farmington police were scheduled to hold a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
“Today, gun violence has claimed the lives of our elders, injured two police officers and paralyzed the small community of Farmington with fear,” U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez, a Democrat whose district includes the area, said on Facebook. “I praise the heroes who have gone into danger to stop the violence. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured and the families of those we have lost.”
“Our beautiful Nuevo Mexico is not immune to the mass shootings happening across the country – Every. Single. day,” the message said.
In recent years, pubs and breweries have popped up in Farmington’s town center alongside decades-old businesses trading Native American handicrafts, from silver jewelry to woven wool.
Last month, Farmington police shot and killed a man at his front door after going to the wrong address while responding to a domestic violence call.
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Ritter reported from Las Vegas, Nevada and Lee from Santa Fe. Associated Press writer Terry Tang in Phoenix contributed.