The 18-year-old gunman who opened fire on a residential street in a "purely random" attack has been named and pictured alongside his three elderly victims.
Gwendolyn Schofield, 97, her 73-year-old daughter, Melody Ivie, and 79-year-old Shirley Voita, were all killed when teenage gunman Beau Wilson started shooting in the New Mexico city of Farmington.
The shooting erupted at around 11am on Monday, May 15 in the New Mexico, US, city of Farmington.
Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said: "At this point it appears to be purely random."
He said the gunman fired at least three weapons, including an “AR-style rifle”.
“But at this point it appears to be purely random, that there was no schools, no churches and no individuals targeted,” Chief Hebbe said.
As well as the three women fatally shot, six people were injured including two police officers before law enforcement gunned the shooter down.
Farmington Deputy Police Chief Kyle Dowdy said at a press conference: "The amount of violence and brutality that these people faced is unconscionable to me.
“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.”
The killings unfolded in the gunman's own neighbourhood leaving investigators still trying to work out his motive.
The Farmington High School student shot at least 150 bullets, police have said, although that number is expected to rise as the investigation continues.
Joseph Robledo, a 32-year-old tree trimmer, said he rushed home after learning that his wife and one-year-old daughter had sought shelter in the laundry room when gunshots rang out.
A bullet went through his daughter’s window and room, without hitting anyone.
Mr Robledo jumped a fence to get in through the back door.
Out front he found an older woman in the street who had been wounded while driving by.
She appeared to have fallen out of her car, "which kept rolling without her", he said.
“I went out to see because the lady was just lying in the road, and to figure just what the heck was going on,” Mr Robledo said.
Neighbours directed an arriving police officer toward the suspect.
“We were telling (the officer), ‘He’s down there.’ … The cop just went straight into action,” Robledo said.
Mr Robledo’s own family car was riddled with bullets.
“We’ve been doing yard work all last week. I just thank God that nobody was outside in front,” he said.
According to local reports, the gunman was “confronted and killed on scene” by officers after shots were fired just before 11am.
The two officers injured are “both currently at San Juan Regional Medical Centre being treated for their injuries and in stable condition.”
