FARMINGTON, New Mexico – Authorities released police body camera footage Thursday that captured about 10 minutes of officers confronting an 18-year-old gunman. Shooting spree Leaving the small northwestern New Mexico town of Farmington on Monday Three elderly women died And at least six people were injured, including two officers. The gunman was killed in police firing.
Footage shows the chaos as Farmington police and other law enforcement officers rushed to the area and confronted the gunman, who authorities said fired more than 140 rounds from an AR-15 rifle, one of three weapons he used during the attack, along with two handguns. .
Video of officers responding after Farmington Police Sgt. Rachel DiSenza was shot in the pelvis while trying to run for cover.
“You could see Sergeant DeCenza, even after he was shot, scrambling to get back, to get back into the fight, not being able to do it,” Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebe said at a news conference Thursday.
A New Mexico State Police officer was also shot during the response.
The video shows officers assisting DiSenza within seconds and opening fire on the gunman, with one officer yelling, “That’s down! Ceasefire, ceasefire!”
Officers then saw the wounded suspect on the ground and handcuffed him.
“It’s like you’re looking at Afghanistan or Iraq,” Hebbi said.
The suspect, identified as Farmington High School student Beau Wilson, was wearing body armor during the attack and a handwritten note was found on his body, Farmington police said. A cache of weapons was also found in his house.
At least seven homes and 16 vehicles were damaged in the gunfire, San Juan County Sheriff’s Capt. Kevin Burns said Wednesday.
Surveillance video from a nearby home showed victims unwittingly driving into the line of fire, while others sped away to safety as bullets hit their cars and homes.
The suspect bought the AR-15 legally last November, about a month after he turned 18, police said, when he received two handguns from family members.
On Wednesday night, the small community of Farmington held a vigil for the three women killed in the shooting, identified as 97-year-old Gwendolyn Schofield, her 73-year-old daughter Melody Ivey and 79-year-old Shirley Voita.
“Just three pillars of our community, and it’s such a sad thing,” New Mexico state representative Mark Duncan told CBS News on Thursday.
Duncan said he knew the victims, revealing that Ivy ran a daycare in the community for 40 years.
“He impacted hundreds of lives,” Duncan said. “He taught my two youngest daughters, and then he taught all of our grandchildren who were old enough to go. And we’ve had many, many people reach out to us and talk to us about the impact he had on their lives. , them. on children’s lives.”
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Omar Villafranca
