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Authorities in New Mexico identified 18-year-old Beau Wilson as the gunman who killed three and wounded six others in Farmington on Monday, May 15. Wilson was killed by responding officers at the scene.
In a news conference on Tuesday, Deputy Police Chief Baric Crum confirmed the gunman's identity as 18-year-old high school student Beau Wilson, who reportedly wounded two police officers before he was killed at the scene.
Crum said that on Monday, Wilson armed with three weapons, including an AR-15-style rifle, began firing randomly at homes and passing cars in the northwestern New Mexico town of Farmington where he lived.
The police chief stated the victims identified as, 97-year-old Gwendolyn Schofield, and her daughter Melody Ivie, 73, died at the scene after the suspect shot at their car. A third woman, 79-year-old Shirley Voita, was also shot in her car but died in the hospital.
Police said that six others, including two police officers wounded during the mass shooting, were hospitalized and have since been released.
While investigators said they were working on discerning the motive for the shooting, Chief Crum noted that there was no link between the victims and the suspect. The police chief added that it appears the teenager began firing indiscriminately at people on a whim.
On Tuesday, Farmington Deputy Chief Kyle Dowdy decried the gratuitous violence that claimed three innocent lives and said:
“The amount of violence and brutality that these innocent people faced is something that is unconscionable to me. And I don’t care what age you are. I don’t care what else is going on in your life. To kill three innocent elderly women that were just absolutely in no position to defend themselves is always going to be a tragedy.”
Beau Wilson graduated from Farmington High School in 2022
Multiple reports stated that Beau Wilson, a New Mexico native, was residing in a home in the Farmington neighborhood when he randomly opened fire at the residents hitting multiple houses and passing cars on the road. Officers reportedly responded to 911 calls about shots fired at 10:57 a.m. on Monday. Upon arrival, authorities found the shooter was still firing at people on the streets. Crum said:
"We have four officers from the Farmington Police Department that confronted the subject. They were able to stop his actions at that time."
Wilson, who reportedly turned 18 years old in October 2022, graduated from Farmington High School last year and was expected to walk in the graduation ceremony this month. While Wilson did not have any major run-ins with the law, authorities confirmed that he had minor infractions as a juvenile.
Authorities said that after interviewing Wilson’s family members investigators learned that Wilson was perhaps suffering from mental health issues. However, the suspect had not been officially diagnosed with any psychological ailments.
Authorities said that after turning 18 in October last year, Beau Wilson purchased one of the three weapons used in the mass shooting incident. The other two weapons were legally owned by family members.
While police said that they are still investigating the circumstances that led up to the shooting, they noted this was not a targeted incident.
