At least three people were killed and several others, including two police officers, were wounded Monday in a northwestern New Mexico community before law enforcement shot and killed the suspect, authorities said.
The shootings occurred at around 11 a.m. in Farmington, a city of about 50,000 people that serves as a modern-day trading post to the adjacent Navajo Nation reservation and is a supply line and bedroom community to the regionB次元官网网址檚 oil and natural gas industry.
The cityB次元官网网址檚 police department said in a Facebook post that at least three members of the public were killed and that officers confronted and killed a suspect at the scene. It also said two officers, including one of its own and a State Police officer, were wounded and were in stable condition at the San Juan Regional Medical Center.
B次元官网网址淭he suspectB次元官网网址檚 identity is unknown and there are no other known threats at this time,B次元官网网址� police said, adding that city, San Juan County and State Police were involved.
Police did not release the names of those who were killed or wounded or give details about what led to the shootings.
After the shootings were reported, the cityB次元官网网址檚 schools were placed on what officials called B次元官网网址減reventative lockdown.B次元官网网址�
Middle school teacher Nick Akins, whose home is on a street that police locked down, described the neighborhood as a mostly great place to live, with a mix of homes, short-term rental apartments and churches.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not like the roughest area in town, but it can be,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e have great neighbors and rentals, people who come and go. We donB次元官网网址檛 always know everyone.B次元官网网址�
Seeing Farmington in the national spotlight for yet another mass shooting, particularly one that occurred on his street, was surreal for him.
B次元官网网址淵ou never think itB次元官网网址檚 going to happen here and all of a sudden, in a tiny little town it comes here,B次元官网网址� Akins said.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement that she was praying for the families of the victims and that the incident B次元官网网址渟erves at yet another reminder of how gun violence destroys lives in our state and our country every single day.B次元官网网址� The governor, a Democrat, did not describe any other circumstances of the deadly confrontation.
B次元官网网址淭oday, gun violence took the lives of our elders, wounded two police officers, and paralyzed FarmingtonB次元官网网址檚 small community in fear,B次元官网网址� U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, a Democrat, whose district includes the area, said on Facebook. B次元官网网址淚 praise the heroes who drove to danger to stop the violence. I pray for the quick recovery of the wounded and for the families of those we lost.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淥ur beautiful Nuevo Mexico is not immune to the mass shootings that occur across the country B次元官网网址� Every. Single. Day,B次元官网网址� the message said.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tweeted that agents from Phoenix were headed to Farmington to assist in the investigation.
Farmington is not far from where New Mexico borders Colorado, Utah and Arizona. In recent years, cafes and breweries have cropped up downtown alongside decades-old businesses that trade in Native American crafts from silver jewelry to wool weavings. Traveling Broadway shows make regular stops at the expansive community center auditorium, while rural lots on the outskirts are littered with disassembled oilfield equipment.
Last month Farmington police shot and killed a man at his front door after they went to the wrong address while responding to a domestic violence call.
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