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18-year-old gunman has killed three people before police shot him dead outside a church in the state of New Mexico.
Several people, including two police officers, were also wounded by the armed teenager who went on a shooting rampage on Monday in a residential area of Farmington, New Mexico, about 290km (180 miles) northwest of Albuquerque, police said.
Farmington Deputy Police Chief Baric Crum said in a news briefing that a total of nine people, not counting the suspect, were victims of the shooting, but it was not clear whether that tally included the three people who were killed.
Officers responding to several calls about a shooting found “a chaotic scene” where a man was firing at people on a residential street, Crum said.
The gunman, identified only as an 18-year-old, was believed to have acted alone, police said. There was no information provided about the three people killed, and no motive was readily apparent.
We are still trying to determine why he was in this neighbourhood,” Crum told reporters.
Some of the incident was captured in video footage posted to the social media platform TikTok and confirmed as authentic by Farmington police spokesperson Shanice Gonzales. It shows a man dressed in black pacing around a driveway outside the First Church of Christ Scientist, carrying what appears to be a handgun before he is later seen being shot dead by police in front of the building.
The man who apparently was recording the video is heard describing the scene to someone else and referring to the suspect walking in circles beside the church.
The two injured officers, one from the Farmington Police Department and one from New Mexico State Police, were listed in stable condition at San Juan Regional Medical Center, according to police.
Farmington, a commercial hub for oil and gas drilling and a shopping destination for the nearby Navajo Nation and smaller towns in the so-called four-corners area where the states of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah meet, has experienced at least two other high-profile incidents of deadly gun violence in recent years.
Police in Farmington last month killed an armed homeowner at his house, then exchanged gunfire with his wife, after officers showed up at the wrong address in response to a domestic violence call. Farmington also was the scene of a deadly high school shooting in December 2017 in which a gunman killed two students before taking his own life.
The shooting on Monday is among the latest in at least 225 mass shootings recorded in the United States this year, according to the nonprofit group Gun Violence Archive.
The group defines a mass shooting as any in which four or more people are wounded or killed, not including the attacker.
Days back, still in US, Texas, a gunman shot and killed eight people shopping at a mall north of Dallas, Texas, emergency services say.
According to BBC, Texas Governor Greg Abbott described the shooting as an “unspeakable tragedy” and said the state was ready to offer any assistance to local authorities.
US police have asked members of the public with video captured at the scene to contact the FBI, as they collect evidence.
Some witnesses described the gunman as dressed all in black and wearing combat gear.
“I heard about 10 pops go off, then ten to fifteen more shots – we see this guy dressed all in black, a vest, just shooting at people,” said one, adding “we just got to the back of the store”.
Video from the scene showed people running for cover across a parking lot as a series of shots rang out.
Allen has about 105,000 residents and is 20 miles (32km) north of central Dallas.
Most adults aged 21 or over in Texas are allowed to carry a handgun without a licence, unless they have a previous conviction. In addition, there are few restrictions on possession of rifles and shotguns.
In the US so far this year there have been at least 198 mass shootings in which four or more people were killed or wounded, according to the Gun Violence Archive. That is the most at this point in the year since at least 2016.
One eyewitness at the mall, Fontayne Payton, told the AP news agency he heard gunshots though his headphones as he shopped at H&M.
When people were allowed to leave the mall, he described seeing bodies outside.
“I pray it wasn’t kids, but it looked like kids,” he said. “It broke me when I walked out to see that.”
Allen Mayor Ken Fulk called it “a tragic day” for the city. “Allen is a proud and safe city, which makes today’s senseless act of violence even more shocking,” he said on the city’s website. “However, I want to commend our police and fire departments for their quick response. Their thorough training not to hesitate to move toward the threat likely saved more lives today.”
Earlier this week police in Texas arrested a man accused of shooting dead five neighbours, including a nine-year-old boy.
Francisco Oropesa was found hiding in a cupboard after a four-day manhunt
Hundreds of people were evacuated from the mall in the city of Allen, as eyewitnesses described a man firing indiscriminately at passers-by.
Police said they shot the gunman dead and believe he acted alone.
Some of the victims are reported to be children. At least seven people are being treated in hospital, three of whom are critically ill.
Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said seven people – including the gunman – were pronounced dead at the scene and two died later in hospital.
A police officer “heard gunshots, went to the gunshots, engaged the suspect and neutralised the suspect”, Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey said.
