| Advertisement |
May 16 (UPI) -- Police have identified the gunman in Monday's shooting, which left three people dead and six others wounded as he shot "indiscriminately" into houses and cars in a New Mexico neighborhood, as a local high school student. The shooter, who was killed by police, was identified Tuesday as Beau Wilson, 18, a senior at Farmington High School.
Advertisement
He was armed with three weapons, including an AR-style rifle that was purchased legally, Deputy Police Chief Kyle Dowdy told reporters.
"We're still investigating how he came into possession of those firearms," Dowdy said, adding that Wilson bought one of the guns in November after he turned 18.
As investigators work to determine a motive, the deputy chief said Wilson had only had "minor infractions" as a juvenile.
"It is important to note that this incident appears to be purely random and had no specific targets or motives that we can identify at this time," Dowdy said.
Wilson's family told investigators that they had concerns about his mental health, but did not provide any information on a diagnosis.
Dowdy said Wilson had been staying at someone's home in the Farmington neighborhood when he started shooting "pretty indiscriminately" as he roamed more than a quarter mile.
A friend of Wilson's said he tried to alert him to the gunfire, sending him a SnapChat only to find out later his friend was the gunman.
"I knew he was going to do something bad but I didn't think it was going to be something like that," the 16-year-old told the Albuquerque Journal.
Three women, who were all traveling in cars, were shot and killed in Monday's shooting. They have been identified as Shirley Volta, 79; Melody Ivie, 73; and Gwendolyn Schofield, 98.
Among the six injured were a Farmington police officer and a New Mexico State Police officer who were treated at a hospital and released.
