Who was New Mexico mass shooter Beau Wilson? What we know so far

Publish date: 2021-08-04

A gunman who killed three people and wounded six others in northwestern New Mexico was identified as 18-year-old Beau Wilson.

While questions remain over his motive, it is understood that the local high school student was able to obtain three guns, one of which was purchased legally.

Wilson used those weapons on Monday in what police described as a 'random' shooting in the mid-size, New Mexico town. 

Pictured: Beau Wilson the man police say committed a mass shooting in Farmington, New Mexico

Pictured: Beau Wilson the man police say committed a mass shooting in Farmington, New Mexico

Flowers are seen at a house where a gunman was standing shooting at random people on N Dustin Avenue

Flowers are seen at a house where a gunman was standing shooting at random people on N Dustin Avenue

Investigators work along a residential street following a deadly shooting on May 15, 2023, in Farmington, New Mexico

Investigators work along a residential street following a deadly shooting on May 15, 2023, in Farmington, New Mexico

 

What did Beau Wilson do? 

Beau Wilson shot dead three elderly women as he prowled a New Mexico neighborhood firing at cars with a legally purchased assault-style rifle, one of three weapons he used in the rampage, that he bought a month after he turned 18.

The suspect's shooting spree on the morning of May 15, 2023, through a residential area of Farmington, New Mexico, ended when police shot him dead.

Police say he killed 93-year-old Gwendolyn Schofield, her 73-year-old daughter, Melody Ivie, and 79-year-old Shirley Voita. 

Police said Wilson stalked a quarter-mile stretch of roadway on foot firing indiscriminately at cars, with some homes also being hit, before police confronted him outside a church, exchanging gunfire with Wilson to halt his advance.

Witnesses and police say Wilson walked through the neighborhood a short drive from downtown Farmington spraying bullets until police arrived within minutes and fatally shot him. Two police officers were among the wounded.

Farmington Deputy Police Chief Baric Crum said at least 150 bullets were fired but that number was expected to go up as the investigation continued.

A bullet hole is seen through the bedroom window of Jolene Robledo's home following a mass shooting in New Mexico

A bullet hole is seen through the bedroom window of Jolene Robledo's home following a mass shooting in New Mexico

Video footage showed Wilson, dressed in black, pacing around the church driveway holding what appeared to be a handgun with an extended, high-capacity magazine before he was killed.

The minutes-long burst of violence stirred hours of fear as police searched the area to ensure the killing was over in Farmington, which is about 180 miles northwest of Albuquerque.

The gunman's actions 'appear to be purely random and had no specific targets or motives that we can identify at this time,' Farmington Deputy Police Chief Kyle Dowdy told a media briefing on Tuesday.

Four other people in cars struck by gunfire or shrapnel were wounded, police said, along with two police officers who have since been released from a local hospital.

Wilson lived at an address in the neighborhood where the shootings took place, but there was no indication he knew any of his victims, Dowdy said. 

 

How old was Beau Wilson and what school did he attend? 

Beau Wilson was just 18 when he carried out the shooting, leading to him being fatally shot by police officers.

He attended a Farmington High School in the area and was set to graduate the day after the shooting. 

Wilson was a member of the varsity wrestling team and wrestled for years while in school. 

Authorities said that Wilson told a friend a year ago that he was hearing voices. 

During the shooting, a friend told the Albuquerque Journal, that he sent Wilson a message on Snapcaht about the shooting, figuring the teen was at school. But, he later saw video of Wilson being shot by police. 

'I knew he was going to do something bad, but I didn't think it was going to be something like that,' the teenager said.

 

How did Beau Wilson get hold of the three fire arms?

In addition to obtaining the AR-15 rifle legally a month after he turned 18 in October 2022, Wilson is believed to have obtained two other firearms used in the shooting from family members, police said.

New Mexico has some of the least restrictive gun ownership laws in the country, with no minimum age to possess rifles and shotguns.

The state generally prohibits anyone under age 19 to possess a handgun, according to the Giffords Law Center gun control organization.

Proposed legislation to ban the sale of many semi-automatic firearms, limit the capacity of ammunition magazines and impose a mandatory waiting period on gun purchases all failed to pass New Mexico's legislature during its 2023 session. 

Community members gather for a prayer vigil at Hills Church in Farmington hours after a mass shooting

Community members gather for a prayer vigil at Hills Church in Farmington hours after a mass shooting

Police say Wilson killed 93-year-old Gwendolyn Schofield, her 73-year-old daughter, Melody Ivie, and 79-year-old Shirley Voita.

Police say Wilson killed 93-year-old Gwendolyn Schofield, her 73-year-old daughter, Melody Ivie, and 79-year-old Shirley Voita.

 

What is his motive?

As of May 17, investigators were still trying to determine the shooter's motive.

'The amount of violence and brutality that these people faced is unconscionable to me,' Deputy Police Chief Kyle Dowdy said.

Deputy Police Chief Baric Crum said Wilson was indiscriminately shooting at vehicles, but that some rounds also hit homes.

Dowdy said investigators do not believe Wilson knew anyone he shot.

'We've discovered nothing that leads us to believe that the suspect knew' the victims, he said. 'We're pretty confident in that this was completely random.'

Wilson had a history of 'minor infractions as a juvenile' and was believed to have suffered from an unspecified mental illness, Dowdy said. 

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