2023 Farmington, New Mexico shooting

Last updated

2023 Farmington, New Mexico shooting
Location Farmington, New Mexico, U.S.
Coordinates 36°45′6″N108°11′23″W / 36.75167°N 108.18972°W / 36.75167; -108.18972
DateMay 15, 2023 (2023-05-15)
10:56 a.m.-11:06 a.m. (UTC−6)
TargetMembers of the general public
Attack type
Mass shooting
Weapons
Deaths4 (including the perpetrator)
Injured6
PerpetratorBeau Wilson
MotiveUnknown

On May 15, 2023, a mass shooting occurred in Farmington, New Mexico, United States. Three people were killed, and six others were wounded, before the shooter, 18-year-old Beau Wilson, was killed by police.

Contents

Shooting

The shooting began on May 15, 2023, at about 10:56 a.m. MDT. The shooting took place in the city of Farmington, 180 miles (290 km) northwest of Albuquerque. [1]

The shooter proceeded to shoot at nearby homes and drivers while walking through the area. Police were dispatched at 10:57 a.m. and arrived by 11:02 a.m. The shooter was killed by police three to four minutes later. [2] [3] According to Farmington police, the shooter fired about 150 rounds during the incident and hit at least seven houses and eleven vehicles. [4]

During the confrontation with police, the shooter shouted for them to "come kill me." [5] The shooter had left a handwritten note which stated, in part, "if your [sic] reading this im [sic] the end of the chapter." [6] The note also warned those who "Lay eyes or [dare] put a finger on my little sister." [7]

Victims

Three women between the ages of 73 and 97 were killed. Those killed were in vehicles at the time of the shooting, with one victim dying after being transported to a local hospital. Two of the victims were related to each other and were traveling together to a nearby school. [8] They were shot when attempting to pull over to render aid to the first victim. [5] Six other people were injured by gunfire, including two responding police officers. [2] [3] [9]

Aftermath

Farmington Municipal Schools were placed in lockdown for almost two hours due to an initial belief by police that there was a second shooter involved. [10] A vigil for the victims was held that night at a local church [11] [12] with additional vigils occurring throughout the week. [13]

Investigation

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said in a tweet at 12:55 p.m. that they were "assisting with a report of a mass shooting" in Farmington. [14] [15] The New Mexico State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are also investigating the shooting. [16] [17]

Perpetrator

Beau Wilson Beauwilson.png
Beau Wilson

The gunman was identified as 18-year-old Beau Wilson, a student at Farmington High School. [18] He was reported to have a modified bullet-proof vest [4] along with two "pistol-type weapons", later reported by Farmington police as .22 caliber and 9 mm pistols, and an AR-15 style rifle. [7] [19] According to local police, Wilson had legally purchased the AR-15 style rifle in late 2022 and purchased three AR-15 magazines days before the shooting, while the handguns were believed to have been owned by family members. [20] [9] [7] Under New Mexico law, a person must be at least 19 in order to be in possession of a handgun. [9] [21] [22] A member of the Farmington Police said at a news conference the day after the shooting that it was not clear if the family members were aware that the suspect was in possession of their handguns. [16]

Reactions

Governor of New Mexico Michelle Lujan Grisham gave her condolences to the victims and said that the shooting “serves at yet another reminder of how gun violence destroys lives in our state and our country every single day”. [23] In a joint statement, New Mexico's five members of Congress stated they would promote gun control legislation. [10] Nonprofit organization Brady Campaign, which focuses on preventing gun violence, also responded to the shooting. [24]

In September 2023, Lujan Grisham issued an emergency order restricting carrying firearms in Albuquerque for 30 days in response to this and other shootings in New Mexico. [25]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aztec High School</span> Public high school in Aztec, New Mexico, United States

Aztec High School is a public high school in Aztec, New Mexico. The school colors are black and orange and the mascot is the Fighting Tiger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Collier Township shooting</span> US mass murder

The Collier Township shooting, also referred to as the Bridgeville LA Fitness shooting, was a mass shooting and murder-suicide that took place on August 4, 2009, in an LA Fitness health club in Collier Township, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The attack resulted in four deaths, including that of the perpetrator, who killed himself. Nine other people were injured. The fitness center is approximately 10 miles (16 km) south of Pittsburgh, in the Great Southern Shopping Center, a strip mall located in the Kirwan Heights section of Collier Township, just outside of the borough of Bridgeville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass shooting</span> Incident involving multiple victims of firearm violence

A mass shooting is a violent crime in which one or more attackers kill or injure multiple individuals simultaneously using a firearm. There is no widely accepted definition of "mass shooting" and different organizations tracking such incidents use different definitions. Definitions of mass shootings exclude warfare and sometimes exclude instances of gang violence, armed robberies, familicides and terrorism. The perpetrator of an ongoing mass shooting may be referred to as an active shooter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Santa Monica shootings</span> Shooting spree in Santa Monica, California, US

On June 7, 2013, a spree shooting occurred in Santa Monica, California. Its catalyst was a domestic dispute and subsequent fire at a home, followed by a series of shootings near and on the Santa Monica College campus. Six people were killed, including the suspect, and four injured. The shooter — 23-year-old John Zawahri — was killed by police officers when he exchanged gunfire with them at the Santa Monica College library.

On August 28, 2017, a mass shooting occurred at the Clovis-Carver Library, a public library in downtown Clovis, New Mexico, U.S. The gunman fatally shot two people and injured four others. He was identified as Nathaniel Jouett, a 16-year-old student at nearby Clovis High School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sutherland Springs church shooting</span> Mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas

On November 5, 2017, at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, a local man, Devin Kelley, shot and killed 26 people and wounded 22 others. Kelley was shot and wounded by another local resident, then killed himself after a car chase. It is the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history and the deadliest at an American place of worship, surpassing the Charleston church shooting of 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rancho Tehama shootings</span> 2017 shooting spree in Rancho Tehama, California, US

On November 13–14, 2017, a series of shootings occurred in Rancho Tehama, an unincorporated community in Tehama County, California, U.S. The gunman, 44-year-old Kevin Janson Neal, died by suicide after a Corning police officer rammed and stopped his stolen vehicle. During the shooting spree, five people were killed and eighteen others were injured at eight separate crime scenes, including an elementary school. Ten people suffered bullet wounds and eight were cut by flying glass caused by the gunfire. The injured victims were transported to several area clinics and hospitals.

The 2018 Toronto shooting, known locally as the Danforth shooting, was a mass shooting that occurred on Danforth Avenue in the Greektown neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the night of July 22, 2018. Faisal Hussain killed two people and wounded thirteen using a Smith & Wesson M&P .40-calibre handgun. He died by suicide after a shootout with Toronto Police Service (TPS) officers. Despite a year long investigation, authorities were unable to determine a motive for the shooting. They noted that Hussain had mental health issues and a long time obsession with violence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 University of North Carolina at Charlotte shooting</span> Mass shooting in Charlotte, North Carolina

On April 30, 2019, a mass shooting occurred at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The shooting, which occurred on the last day of classes for the spring semester, sent six people to the hospital, two of whom were dead upon arrival, and left three others in critical condition. The shooting occurred inside a classroom in the Woodford A. Kennedy Building while students were giving a final presentation. The perpetrator, a former UNCC student named Trystan Andrew Terrell, was arrested shortly afterwards. In September 2019, he pleaded guilty to the murders and was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STEM School Highlands Ranch shooting</span> 2019 mass shooting in Highlands Ranch, Colorado

On May 7, 2019, a school shooting occurred at STEM School Highlands Ranch, a charter school located in Douglas County, Colorado, United States, in the Denver suburb of Highlands Ranch. One student was killed and eight others were injured. Sixteen-year-old Alec McKinney and eighteen-year-old Devon Erickson were convicted on dozens of charges and sentenced to life imprisonment. It, along with the Columbine High School massacre, is one of the only 6 school shootings to be carried out by two individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Dayton shooting</span> Mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio

On August 4, 2019, 24-year-old Connor Betts shot and killed nine people, including his brother, and wounded 17 others near the entrance of the Ned Peppers Bar in the Oregon District of Dayton, Ohio. Betts was fatally shot by responding police officers 32 seconds after the first shots were fired. A total of 27 people were taken to area hospitals. It is the deadliest mass shooting to occur in Ohio since the 1975 Easter Sunday Massacre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midland–Odessa shootings</span> Spree shooting in Midland and Odessa, Texas

On August 31, 2019, a spree shooting occurred in the West Texas cities of Midland and Odessa, involving a gunman shooting multiple people from a vehicle. Eight people were killed, including the perpetrator, and twenty-five people were injured, including three police officers. It was the third major mass shooting to take place in the United States in August 2019, following the El Paso Walmart shooting and the Dayton shooting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Saugus High School shooting</span> 2019 mass shooting in Santa Clarita, California, USA

On Thursday, November 14, 2019, at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California, United States, a school shooting occurred when a student with a pistol, identified as 16-year-old Nathaniel Berhow, shot five schoolmates, killing two, before killing himself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Nova Scotia attacks</span> Series of murders in Canada

On April 18 and 19, 2020, 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman committed multiple shootings and set fires at 16 locations in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, killing 22 people and injuring three others before he was shot and killed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Enfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Boulder shooting</span> Mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado

On March 22, 2021, a mass shooting occurred at a King Soopers supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Ten people were killed, including a local on-duty police officer. The alleged shooter, 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Al-Issa, was arrested after being shot in the right leg. He was temporarily hospitalized before being moved to the county jail. After undergoing mental evaluations during the legal proceedings, Al-Issa was found mentally incompetent to stand trial in December 2021 and in April 2022. On August 23, 2023, prosecutors announced that Al-Issa was mentally competent to stand trial; a judge ruled as such on October 6 of that same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indianapolis FedEx shooting</span> Mass shooting in Indianapolis, Indiana

On April 15, 2021, a mass shooting occurred at a FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Nine people were killed, including the gunman, 19-year-old former employee Brandon Scott Hole, who committed suicide. Seven others were injured, including four by gunfire. It is the deadliest mass shooting in the history of Indiana.

On June 1, 2022, Michael Louis opened fire in the Natalie Building, part of the Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. He killed four people, three of whom were hospital staff, and injured an unspecified number of others before committing suicide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Raleigh shootings</span> Mass shooting in North Carolina

On October 13, 2022, a mass shooting occurred in the Hedingham neighborhood of Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Five people were killed, and two others were injured. The accused, a male juvenile named Austin Thompson, was detained after being cornered by police at a nearby residence and was in critical condition from a gunshot wound to the head sustained during the incident. Thompson survived his head injury and has begun to receive physical rehabilitation. He was transferred from a hospital to the medical unit of a juvenile correctional facility.

On July 2–3, 2023, a shooting spree occurred in the Kingsessing neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Five people were killed and two people were injured. The police apprehended the shooter without incident.

References

  1. "US teen kills 3 in New Mexico before shot dead by police". Al Jazeera.
  2. 1 2 Almasy, Steve; Wolfe, Elizabeth (May 16, 2023). "98-year-old woman and her daughter among 3 victims killed by New Mexico student who fired randomly, hitting cars and homes". CNN.
  3. 1 2 "New Mexico high school student killed 3 women in 'random' shooting rampage, police say". AP News. May 17, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Kaplan, Elise (May 17, 2023). "Farmington shooter was wearing bulletproof vest, carried note in his pocket, police say". Albuquerque Journal.
  5. 1 2 "Videos show gunman saying 'kill me' to onrushing officers in New Mexico rampage". AP News. May 19, 2023.
  6. "New Mexico gunman who killed 3 wore bulletproof vest, left note". AP NEWS. May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "Note found on body of teenage New Mexico shooter; 'dynamite lady' among victims: Updates". USA TODAY.
  8. "Preschool teacher and her mother among Farmington shooting victims". Albuquerque Journal. May 16, 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 "New Mexico teen bought AR-style rifle legally before shooting spree, police say | Reuters". Reuters .
  10. 1 2 "New Mexico shooting: 3 dead, 2 wounded in Farmington attack". NBC News. May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  11. "New Mexico shooting suspect, 3 people dead with multiple injured". The Washington Post . May 15, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  12. "At least 3 killed, others wounded in New Mexico shooting, police say". July 13, 2023. Archived from the original on July 13, 2023.
  13. Tucker, Elizabeth (May 16, 2023). "Vigils this week to honor Farmington shooting victims". Albuquerque Journal.
  14. Rodriguez, Vince (May 15, 2023). "Police: 2 officers shot, 3 civilians dead in shooting in Farmington". KOAT. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  15. Gladden, DelSheree (May 15, 2023). "One confirmed dead in active shooting in Farmington; officers possibly injured". Durango Herald. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  16. 1 2 Knutson, Jacob (May 15, 2023). "Police say New Mexico mass shooter was 18-year-old high school student". Axios . Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  17. Reisen, Matthew (May 16, 2023). "Ten minutes of chaos: Authorities identify gunman, provide details in Farmington shooting". Albuquerque Journal.
  18. "New Mexico gunman that killed 3 in 'purely random' shooting identified as 18-year-old Farmington High School student". NBC News. May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  19. "Gunman who killed 3 people and injured 6 in Farmington, New Mexico, was 18 years old and used three firearms, police say". CNN. May 15, 2023.
  20. "At least 150 rounds fired by gunman, officers during New Mexico shooting: Police". ABC News.
  21. "Minimum Age to Purchase & Possess in New Mexico".
  22. "Chapter 30 - Criminal Offenses - NMOneSource.com". nmonesource.com.
  23. "New Mexico shooting leaves three people dead and nine injured". The Guardian. May 15, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  24. "New Mexico gunman who killed 3 randomly shot at cars and houses, police say". USA Today. May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  25. Mascarenhas, Lauren (September 12, 2023). "New Mexico's governor just temporarily banned the public carrying of firearms in Albuquerque. Here's what you need to know". CNN . Retrieved September 15, 2023.