3 killed, police officials injured in New Mexico shooting; suspect dead

By Team Newsable | First Published May 16, 2023, 9:14 AM IST

At least three people were killed and several others, including two police officers, were wounded in a northwestern New Mexico community before law enforcement shot and killed the suspect, authorities said.

A shooter opened fire in a neighbourhood in northwest New Mexico on Monday (local time), leaving at least three people dead and six others injured. Two police officers were reportedly among those hurt in the incident, which happened in a Farmington, New Mexico, neighbourhood, roughly 180 miles (290 km) northwest of Albuquerque.

Commenting on the incident, the police, during a news briefing, said the 18-year-old gunman was gunned down outside a church some time later. Farmington police spokesperson, Shanice Gonzales, told media that the suspect had stalked about a quarter of a mile on foot. He then opened fire on onlookers. He was approached by law enforcement officers a short while afterwards.

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The motive for the shooting was unclear. According to authorities, the two injured officers—one from the Farmington authorities Department and the other from the New Mexico State Police—were both reported at San Juan Regional Medical Centre as being in stable condition.

The suspect was "confronted and killed on the scene," and no further threat to the public remains, said officials in Farmington, a town of 50,000 people located some 200 miles (320 km) from state capital Santa Fe.

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In a statement, Mayor Nate Duckett noted that although both had been shot, their wounds were not life-threatening. The conditions of the four wounded civilians was not known.

Farmington, a population of around 46,000 people, saw security lockdowns at multiple public schools due to the gun violence until authorities judged there was no longer a danger to the public. More than 215 mass shootings have occurred this year in the United States, according to the non-governmental organization Gun Violence Archive.

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