The New Mexico GOP pointed a finger at the state’s “softer penalties for violent criminals” after a gunman opened fire in Farmington, killing three people and wounding seven others.
According to a report from the Associated Press (AP), police responded to several reports of gunshots Monday morning on a residential street. Responding officers confronted the suspect, age 18, upon arrival and fatally shot him, AP reported, citing Farmington Police Deputy Chief Baric Crum. The three fatalities were also found at the scene.
Seven other victims were transported to the San Juan Regional Medical Center, read the report, including two police officers, one from Farmington and the other from the state force. The officers were in stable condition as of Monday afternoon, Crum said during a press conference.
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Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said during a video statement Monday evening that the shooting appeared to be “purely random,” adding that the shooter, an 18-year-old male, walked about a quarter of a mile through a residential neighborhood and “fired at whatever entered his head to shoot at.”
“There were no schools, no churches, no individuals targeted during the course of the event,” Hebbe said in the video posted on the department’s Facebook page. “At least six houses and three cars were shot in the course of the event.”
Hebbe also said that the gunman fired at least three different weapons, including one AR-style rifle. Newsweek has contacted the Farmington Police Department via email for further information.
Democratic New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham described the shooting as “tragic violence” in a statement posted to her Twitter account Monday, adding that she was “praying for the families of the victims, the wounded and the entire community of Farmington following this horrific tragedy.”
“I’m also grateful for the quick response by law enforcement,” Grisham continued. “My administration will not stop fighting the epidemic of gun violence from every angle possible.”
The Republican Party of New Mexico (RPNM), however, released a statement Monday night, claiming that the state was “experiencing an unprecedented crime crisis that is being intensified every year by softer penalties for violent criminals.”
“Every New Mexico community deserves to feel secure, unfortunately, our leaders want to continue to embolden criminals but at the same time leave responsible citizens defenseless,” RPNM continued.
Republicans across the country have vowed to fight rising crime rates, blaming Democratic-controlled cities and states for not adopting a “tough on crime” attitude. In some instances, crime rates have influenced Americans to move out of Democratic-led areas, with data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau finding a rapid population growth in 2022 in some of the most Republican states in the country.
According to data compiled by WiseVoter, New Mexico ranks third in the United States in violent crime, with a rate of 778.3 incidents per 100,000 residents. The report, featuring the most recent data available from 2020, included the District of Columbia, which ranks first overall, with the highest rate per capita, at 999.8 incidents per 100,000 residents. Alaska ranks second, with 837.8 per 100,000 residents.
Grisham previously called for a bipartisan effort to address the rising violent crime rate in New Mexico, telling reporters at a press conference in January, “Our first responders and police officers are not safe in this climate, straight up,” according to a report from the Albuquerque Journal.
The Democratic Party of New Mexico, however, issued a statement following Monday’s shooting that focused on gun control, writing, “Yet again, we see how the pervasiveness of gun violence threatens every community.”
“As Democrats, we will continue working toward commonsense gun safety reform that confronts our nation’s gun violence epidemic to make neighborhoods safer in New Mexico and across the country,” the statement continued.