Authorities said the gunman who killed three people in New Mexico was a local high school student.still looking for motivation

FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — The shooter, who killed three and wounded six, is an 18-year-old local high school student who allegedly roamed his neighborhood in northwestern New Mexico and opened fire at random. officials announced on Tuesday. Still trying to determine the motive for the attack.

Bo Wilson, who lives in the Farmington area, opened fire Monday and killed three women, authorities said at a press conference. Gwendoline Scofield, 97, her daughter Melody Ivy, 73, and Shirley Voyta, 79, police said.

Witnesses and police said Mr Wilson roamed a neighborhood within a short drive of downtown Farmington, firing bullets and shooting him dead within minutes when police arrived on the scene.

Deputy Chief Barrick Crum said Wilson had been firing at vehicles indiscriminately, with some also hitting homes.

Authorities are working to determine a motive, but Deputy Chief Kyle Dowdy said there was not yet enough information to believe investigators knew any of the people Wilson shot.

“We’re pretty confident that it was completely random,” he said.

Dowdy said Wilson legally purchased at least one of the guns he used in November.

“The amount of violence and cruelty these people have faced is unacceptable to me,” Dowdy said. “I don’t care what else is going on in your life, no matter how old you are. Killing three innocent elderly women who are completely unable to defend themselves is always a tragedy.” will be.”

Four officers, including one of the two injured officers, fired a total of 16 shots at Wilson on Monday, said San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari.

Mayor Nate Duckett said Tuesday that two injured law enforcement officers, a local Farmington police officer and a state trooper, had been treated and released from the hospital.

Police Chief Steve Hebbe said in a video statement Monday that officers began receiving calls for gunshots around 10:57 a.m., with the first shots arriving on the scene at 11:02 a.m. Three minutes later, the shooter was dead.

Joseph Robledo, a 32-year-old tree cutter, said he rushed home after learning his wife, Jolene, and their 1-year-old daughter had taken refuge in the laundry room when gunshots rang out. The bullet passed through her daughter’s window and room, but did not hit anyone.

Jolene Robredo said she first thought it was a car backfiring when she heard a “pop, pop, pop, pop” after breakfast with her daughter. She said she was trying to get out the back door until she heard a male rant that she heard just outside her house, she quietly closed the door and put her clothes between her washer and dryer. hid with his daughter.

“I mean, it was crazy. I called my husband and I heard gunshots through the phone,” she said. “He was taken aback and I was like, ‘Don’t cut me, don’t cut me!'”

Joseph Robredo said he jumped over a fence to get in through the back door. In front of him, he found an elderly woman on the street who had been injured while driving by. He said she appeared to have fallen out of her car and her car kept running without her.

“There was a woman lying on the road and I went outside to try and figure out what was going on,” said Robledo. He and others started first aid.

Neighbors turned the arriving police officers on the suspect.

“We said (to the police), ‘He’s over there.’ …The officers acted immediately,” Robledo said.

Robredo’s own family car was riddled with bullet holes.

“We’ve been working in the yard all week. Thank God there was no one in front of us outside,” he said. “Obviously, towards the elderly, he had no sympathy for them.”

Downtown Farmington, a short drive from the residential area where the attacks took place, has undergone a transformation of sorts in recent years, beside a decades-old business trading in Native American crafts, from silver jewelry to woolen fabrics. cafes and breweries are springing up. .

Middle school teacher Nick Akins, who lives in the area where the attack took place, said the area is a great place to live, with a mix of houses, short-term apartments and churches.

“I never thought something like this could happen here, and suddenly it’s here in a small, small town,” Akins said.

Even on Tuesday, orange spray paint marks were left on the ground where police collected evidence of the shooting. Authorities used metal detectors to search the bush in front of one of the churches along the street where the shooting occurred.

As Monday night approached, dozens of people gathered at Hills Church, a few miles from the attack site, to pray at the base of a tall metal cross. Senior Pastor Matt Mizell spoke of living in a “dark and broken world,” but said there was still hope for the crowd and asked God to give him strength.

Politicians also spoke out about the attack.

Mayor Nate Duckett said in a statement that “we are trembling with pain and disbelief” at the shooting.

In a statement, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said he was praying for the families of the victims and said, “This is yet another reminder of how gun violence is destroying lives in our state and our country every day.” rice field.

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, a Democrat who represents the region in Congress, said in a Facebook post, “Our beautiful Nuevo Mexico is not immune to mass shootings across the country. not,’ he said. single. Day. “

“I applaud the heroes who drove into dangerous places to stop the violence. I wish the injured a speedy recovery and the families of the deceased rest in peace,” he said.

___

Ritter reported from Las Vegas, Nevada, and Lee from Santa Fe. Associated Press reporter Terry Tan of Phoenix contributed.