Four people, including a suspect, were killed and two police officers wounded during a shooting in northwest New Mexico on Monday, authorities said.
Three “civilian victims” were killed, Farmington police said, in addition to one suspect who was “confronted and killed on scene.” Police said the suspect was 18-years-old and that he had multiple weapons, according to Farmington Deputy Chief Baric Crum.
Officers responded to 911 calls about shots fired at 10:57 a.m. Monday morning, coming upon a “chaotic scene” as the suspect was still actively firing at people.
“We have four officers from the Farmington Police Department that confronted the subject,” Crum said. “They were able to stop his actions at that time.”
Crum said there were nine victims beside the suspect, including the three people who were killed. One Farmington police officer and one member of the state police were also wounded, Farmington police said.
Both were listed in stable condition at San Juan Regional Medical Center. The conditions of the others injured in the shooting were not immediately available.
Crum did not identify the suspect, but said earlier Monday that there did not appear to be a second suspect or any further threat to the community.
Authorities urged anyone with information regarding the shooting to contact police as the investigation continues.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham thanked police for a quick response.
“I am deeply upset by the tragic violence that unfolded today in Farmington. I am praying for the families of the victims, the wounded and the entire community of Farmington following this horrific tragedy,” she said in a statement. “I’m also grateful for the quick response by law enforcement. My administration will not stop fighting the epidemic of gun violence from every angle possible.”
Police had Farmington Municipal Schools lock down at 11:15 a.m. MT, officials said. That order was lifted by 1:05 p.m.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents and San Juan County Sheriff’s deputies also responded to the shooting.
Judith McIntosh, 77, told NBC News on Monday afternoon she was driving home from the grocery store with a friend when she saw a woman laying on the street. She thought it was odd, but continued driving. Moments later, while by a church near her home, three to five gunshots rang out.
McIntosh said she then saw at least one person laying on the grass on the church’s property.
“We saw the first older lady in the street and thought she had been hit by a car,” McIntosh said. “And then we went a little bit further, by the church, and heard the gunshots. … And then we saw other people that were on the ground, and thought, ‘Oh my God. What’s going on? What’s happening?’ People are getting killed.”
She added, “I’m still very upset.”
McIntosh said there was then a flurry of police activity in the area, and she wasn’t able to get into her home for hours. But when she did, she discovered a gunshot had pierced her bedroom window.
“There was a bullet hole in my bedroom window, through the curtains, through the living room and over the top of my recliner.”
McIntosh said the bullet struck her living room wall.
“If I happened to be home, I could have been shot,” she said.
Investigators were concentrating their work on Dustin Avenue between Ute and Apache streets in Farmington, officials said.
The city, with a population of a little over 46,000, is about 200 miles northwest of Santa Fe, the state’s capital.
The community — near the famed Four Corners where the borders of New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Arizona meet — is also close to three major Native American reservations. The Navajo, Ute Mountain Indians and Southern Utes are all in close proximity of Farmington.
New Mexico’s five members of Congress — Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, and U.S. Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández, Melanie Stansbury and Gabe Vasquez — issued a joint statement, thanking first responders and vowing to fight gun violence via federal legislation.
“We are devastated by today’s mass shooting in Farmington, New Mexico,” they said. “As we await further updates, we are grateful to our state and local law enforcement officers who responded to the scene, and to our health care providers who are caring for those injured. Our hearts are with the families of the deceased and those injured.”
Monday’s mass shooting comes on the heels of two others in the past nine days. Two people were killed and five others were injured in a shooting Saturday night in Yuma, Arizona, police said.
Seven victims, all male, were found with gunshot wounds. Two of the victims, 19 and 20 years old, were taken to Yuma Regional Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead. No suspects were in custody.
A week before that shooting, a gunman killed eight people at a Dallas-area outlet mall.
The 33-year-old shooter, a neo-Nazi sympathizer with an AR-15-style assault weapon, was killed by an officer who happened to be at the shopping center in Allen, authorities said.
The victims included a young boy and his parents, two elementary school-age sisters, a security guard working toward his goals and an engineer with a new master’s degree.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.