CNN
—
The teenage gunman who killed three people and wounded six others in Farmington, New Mexico, on Monday appeared to target victims randomly and used at least three guns in the attack, including an AR-15-style rifle, police said.
The shooting appears to have been “purely random” as “there were no schools, no churches, no individuals targeted,” Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said in a video statement Monday night.
The 18-year-old gunman roamed through the neighborhood and “randomly fired at whatever entered his head to shoot at,” including houses and cars, before police arrived and fatally shot him, Hebbe said.
Police have yet to identify the shooter or victims and are expected to hold a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Among those injured was a New Mexico State Police officer who drove himself to a medical facility and was still hospitalized Monday night, the chief said. A Farmington police officer who was also wounded has since been released from the hospital.
Farmington’s San Juan Regional Medical Center received seven patients, spokesperson Laura Werbner told CNN. She declined to comment on the patients’ conditions.
Investigators are still piecing together details of how the attack unfolded, the chief said, noting the “wide and complex scene” spans over a quarter of a mile.
Authorities are also speaking with the shooter’s family and examining what motive he may have had, Hebbe said.
The AR-15-style rifle used in the attack has become a weapon of choice among mass shooters and has been used in some of the most high-profile massacres in recent US history, including the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012 and a shooting in Uvalde, Texas, last year that killed 19 children and two teachers.
Monday’s violent attack is among more than 220 mass shootings this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which, like CNN, defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are shot, not including the shooter.
Farmington Mayor Nate Duckett said he has received calls of support from the White House, lawmakers in Washington, Navajo Nation leaders and state mayors.
Duckett said the violence has “left us reeling in anguish and disbelief.”
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families during this incomprehensible time of pain and loss,” he said.
“We are a resilient community, a community that cares for each other. In the face of adversity, we must stand together, comfort one another, and make a determined effort to heal these wounds so we can emerge stronger and not allow this act of violence to define us.” the mayor added.