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New Mexico Shooting Spree: Body Camera Video Released By Police
Police in New Mexico released body camera footage on Thursday that showed a tense but rapid chase of a shooter who earlier this week was randomly shooting at homes and vehicles in a residential neighborhood before being killed by the responding officers.
The New Mexico Shooting Spree
The 18-year-old gunman in Farmington shot over a nearly quarter-mile extent of the neighborhood, leaving three people dead and six others injured, including two police officers.
The first victim Shirley Viota’s car is shown slowly rolling down the street with the driver’s door open in one video clip taken from a doorbell camera.
At a press conference on Thursday, Farmington Police Department Chief, Steve Hebbe, revealed to the media that the footage was recorded after Voita had been shot and exited the car.
In a subsequent video from the same camera, the minivan driven by the second and third victims, Gwendolyn Schofield and Melody Ivie, is shown coming to a stop.
According to Hebbe, police thought that the women were getting ready to help Voita when the shooter started shooting at them. Both Schofield and her daughter Ivie died in the car.
The camera footage captured the audible firing and puffs of debris coming from the driver’s window. After Schofield and Ivie are murdered, three vehicles stopped there, but the shooting continued.
Eventually, one makes a turn, while the other two swiftly try to escape from the gunfire by shifting into reverse.
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Police Released Body Camera Video From The Shooting
In the videos made public on Thursday, the victims are not visible. The shooter can be seen on a video taken by Farmington police that was allegedly taken on Wednesday but was not immediately released.
One body camera captured an officer strolling down a street while holding a weapon in search of the suspect, who the responding officer claimed was characterized as wearing all-black clothing and carrying an automatic weapon.
While police sirens are sounding, the officer continues, transmitting for another unit to be dispatched to the area and stating that he is with a sergeant and two detectives.
Gunman Arrested By The Police
The video shows officers handcuffing the shooter and transmitting another officer, Sergeant Rachel Discenza, who has been identified as also injured.
Additionally, police released video from Discenza’s body camera. She collapses on the ground as she and the officers move toward the direction where bullets are heard.
Hebbe stated that a police officer from the New Mexico State University was shot while reacting to the event and drove himself to the hospital.
At the San Juan Regional Medical Center, both cops received care and have since been discharged. Hebbe reported that Discenza is recovering at home.
According to a hospital representative, San Juan Regional Medical Center treated and later released four additional victims of the event.
Who Is The Gunman Behind The Massacre?
Beau Adam Wilson, a high school student, is believed to have used his recently acquired AR-15 rifle to unleash a hail of bullets from his yard before continuing his journey through a neighborhood in northwest New Mexico.
This has left another community wondering whether such a tragedy could have been avoided and why the gunman decided to shoot at helpless civilians.
According to police, the shooter bought his assault rifle in November, roughly a month after turning 18 years old. He started the shooting spree by discharging his firearm carelessly out of his yard, Hebbe claimed on Wednesday.
After dropping his AR-15 weapon, Wilson allegedly resumed his deadly attack by strolling across the neighborhood and firing two pistols at random into houses and cars.
The Gunman Had Multiple Weapons
Authorities think two of the guns used in the massacre were lawfully possessed by a family member in addition to the AR-15 rifle Wilson purchased a month after becoming 18 years old. Investigators are attempting to figure out how the murderer acquired them.
According to the police chief, just two days before the shooting attack, the gunman also purchased three cartridges for the firearm.
In addition to the three weapons used in the attack, the chief reported that 10 additional firearms and 1,400 rounds of bullets were discovered at the shooter’s home.
Before leaving the rifle in some bushes and departing the home with two handguns, the gunman, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, is believed to have shot at least 141 rounds from his yard.
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