CNN
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As investigators in Farmington, New Mexico, have yet to pin down what drove an 18-year-old gunman to shoot indiscriminately at residents, homes and cars on Monday, police say the three women he killed were elderly residents – including a mother and daughter – who were simply driving through the neighborhood.
The victims, identified as Melody Ivie, 73; Shirley Volta, 79; and Gwendolyn Schofield, 98, are the latest Americans to fall prey to gun violence as they carry out everyday tasks, including grocery shopping, attending school and going to work.
“The amount of violence and brutality that these innocent people faced is something that is unconscionable to me,” Farmington Deputy Police Chief Kyle Dowdy said in a news conference Tuesday. “To kill three innocent elderly women that were just absolutely in no position to defend themselves is always going to be a tragedy.”
Hundreds of 911 calls flooded in Monday morning as gunfire reverberated through the neighborhood, nestled in a commercial hub, according to the deputy chief.
The shooter, high school student Beau Adam Wilson, was wielding three weapons, including an AR-style rifle, as he roamed more than a quarter of a mile, appearing to randomly fire at “whatever entered his head to shoot at,” Police Chief Steve Hebbe said Monday.
Wilson was killed on the scene by responding officers, according to police. The teen was living in the neighborhood and had only “minor infractions” with law enforcement before the violent attack, Dowdy said.
Six people, including two police officers who were shot, were treated at a local hospital and released, Farmington Deputy Chief Baric Crum said Tuesday. Several others, including some who were injured by exploding glass, were treated and released on the scene, he said.
“This incident appears to be purely random and had no specific targets or motives that we can identify at this time,” Dowdy said, reiterating that the investigation is still underway.
At least 150 shell casings have been found across the sprawling scene, according to Dowdy, though it is currently unclear how many of those were fired by the gunman. The four police officers who stopped the attacker fired 16 times, authorities said.
Farmington Police Sgt. Rachel Discenza was wounded in the exchange of fire with the assailant and New Mexico State Police officer Andreas Stamatiadas was shot as he arrived at the scene, Crum said.
Authorities are still investigating how the shooter came to possess the firearms, which were all legally purchased, but believe two were owned by a family member, Dowdy said. Wilson, who turned 18 in October, purchased the third gun in November, he said.
Dowdy added that some family members interviewed by law enforcement expressed concerns about Wilson’s mental health, but the deputy chief noted it is unclear whether the shooter had been diagnosed with any issues.
Wilson was a student at Farmington High School, police said.
The deadly attack is among the more than 220 mass shootings that have devastated American cities the first 20 weeks of the year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The nonprofit, like CNN, defines a mass shooting as one in which at least four people are shot, excluding the shooter.