Police in New Mexico have shared a photo of a note found on an 18-year-old gunman who killed three elderly women at random before taking off his bulletproof vest and getting shot by the cops who responded to the scene.
The teen, Beau Wilson, had a stockpile of guns and bullets at his dad’s house, according to the Farmington Police Department. Officers found over 1,000 bullets and ten different types of guns spread all over the place. Even though Wilson could easily get to these weapons, they weren’t actually his.
Farmington’s Police Chief, Steve Hebbe, explained in a press conference on Wednesday that Wilson was wearing a homemade bulletproof vest with steel plates when he started shooting from his house. But for some reason, Wilson took off his vest before the cops showed up. The note they found in his pocket said, “If you’re reading this, I’m the end of the chapter [sic].” It also warned that anyone messing with Wilson’s little sister would be sorry.
According to the cops, Wilson’s rampage started when he fired at least 176 shots from an AR-15 rifle from his front porch. Even though he still had bullets left, he tossed the rifle aside and kept going with two handguns. He ditched a .22-caliber gun and fired off rounds from a 9-mm handgun during his final showdown with the cops, firing at least 18 shots. Wilson seemed to be randomly shooting at cars, hitting 11 vehicles and seven houses. The people he killed were a mother and daughter, Gwendolyn Schofield, 97, and Melody Ivie, 73, as well as Shirley Voita, 79, all of them long-time residents of Farmington.
Sgt. Rachel Discenza from the Farmington Police and Officer Andreas Stamatiadis from the New Mexico State Police were hurt in the attack and had to be taken to a local hospital.
The authorities are now trying to figure out how Wilson got his hands on the guns and looking into his mental health history. They’re trying to get his medical records and school records to learn more about why he went on this shooting spree.