FARMINGTON, N.M. (KRQE) – Police body camera video shows how four Farmington Police officers ran to stop a teenage shooter who killed three people and wounded six others Monday. The department released the video Thursday while also describing how they believe the three deceased victims crossed paths with the shooter.
Victims Shirley Voita, 79, Melody Ivie, 73, and Gwendolyn Schofield, 97 were killed in the shooting. A state representative for the Farmington area, Rep. Mark Duncan says the three victims were “exceptional women.”
Police say the 18-year-old Farmington High student was behind the shooting, which started in the front yard of his father’s home. Investigators say the shooter was randomly targeting cars driving through the neighborhood.
In total, investigators released two doorbell camera videos and two body camera videos Thursday. Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said a neighbor’s doorbell camera video show how Shirley Voita was shot first while driving past the shooter’s home in a white car.
“Eventually, at the end of the shooting, she’s laying in the middle of the street, as Melody and Gwendolyn are driving down the street,” Hebbe said. “It’s our belief that they see the body in the street and they’re pulling over to the side, that they’re going to render aid to her, not knowing what had happened.”
A second clip of doorbell camera video shows a blue van pull over to the side of the road, which contained Ivie and Schofield. Hebbe said the van unknowingly stopped directly in front of the shooter’s home.
“They actually pull over and stop, they don’t just drive around and drive thru, they pull over and stop,” Hebbe said. “The suspect opens fire and kills both of them as they’re sitting in their car.”
Chief Hebbe said Thursday that doorbell camera footage also captures the shooter shouting “come kill me.” Police say the shooter eventually discarded body armor and an AR-15 rifle and began walking along N. Dustin Road.
**WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT**
Farmington Police video from May 15 mass shooting | Raw Video
After walking along N. Dustin Road, the shooter was eventually confronted by police in the lawn of the First Church of Christ, Scientist building. Video shows police running toward the shooter, and eventually killing him. Chief Hebbe shared his reaction to the video Thursday.
“When our officers finally do get on scene and were closing to contact, the exchange of fire and the officer, the first officer going down, then getting back up, the communication among the officers, you know, that ‘I’m not hit’, we lay rounds down on to the target, then its cease fire, the officers move,” Hebbe said, recounting the actions seen on video. “It’s something to me, it just sticks with you, the threat that they were under and the calmness of which they dealt with it.”
Police believe at least 176 shots were fired during the incident. Investigators say he used an AR-15 rifle and two pistols over a span of around ten minutes from the start of the shooting to the point in which he was confronted by police.
This is a developing news story. This post will be updated.
