An 18-year-old gunman shot at random passers-by, but also at houses and cars, in a New Mexico neighborhood of USAkilling three people and injuring six others before police shot him dead outside a church, authorities said.
The incident occurred yesterday, Monday, around noon in the Farmington district, located approximately 290 kilometers northwest of Albuquerque, the state capital.
When the police arrived at the scene “faced scenes of chaos, with a man shooting at bystanders in the neighborhood”Farmington police Barrick Crum said at a press briefing.
Tseveral people were killed and six others were injured, including two policemen who were hit during the exchange of fire with the attackerbefore he was fatally wounded by police, Farmington police spokeswoman Shanice Gonzalez explained.
According to her, the 18-year-old traveled a distance of about 500 meters shooting at passers-by indiscriminately, before being confronted by the police outside a church.
His motive is not known, she clarified.
The suspect appeared to shoot “whatever came into his head” and used at least three weapons, one of which was an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebe said, adding that the assailant shot against “at least six houses and three cars”.
So far police have only released the age of the attacker, who appears to have acted alone. No information has been released about the dead, according to Reuters and the Athens News Agency.
The two policemen are hospitalized in a stable condition, while the condition of the four citizens who have been injured is not known.
Part of the carnage was captured on video posted to TikTok, with Gonzalez confirming the footage is authentic.
The video shows a man dressed in black walking outside the First Church of Christ Scientist holding what appears to be a pistol, before being shot dead by police.
The man who took the video can be heard describing the scene to someone else and telling them that the suspect is walking in circles outside the church. He is then heard saying: “a man is lying in the middle of the road.”
In April, Farmington police killed a gunman at his home and then exchanged gunfire with his wife after officers went to the wrong home on a domestic violence call.
Also in December 2017, a gunman opened fire at a high school in Farmington, killing two students before killing himself.
Yesterday’s massacre is the latest of at least 225 such incidents recorded in the US this year in which four or more people have been killed or injured, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Source: News Beast

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