FARMINGTON, N.M. – “May 15 was honestly one of the worst days in our community’s history,” said Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe. 

A year ago today was supposed to be a day for family gatherings and graduation preparation in the Four Corners. That all changed with several 911 calls about an active shooter in their neighborhood near Farmington High School. That incident left four dead, including the active shooter. 

“It sounds like a war zone. He’s walking down the street, he’s firing at people, he’s firing at houses just randomly as he goes,” said Hebbe.

It’s a day people in Farmington will never forget: May 15, 2023. The day a soon-to-be high school graduate walked down the street and opened fire. 

Before it was all over, Beau Wilson shot around 1,400 rounds. He killed three women and injured several others, including two officers. 

“On top of it, it was multiple guns, so he used an AR-15 to start off and transitioned to a pistol as it went through the day,” Hebbe said.  

It all started just before 11 that morning, when hundreds of people called 911 about a gunman shooting cars and homes along N Dustin Ave. 

“Somebody is just running a whole lot of fire. They’re just shooting all over the place, probably 30 rounds so far.”

FPD were on the scene within five minutes. 

“We found several victims in the street, that ultimately turned out to be the three who were killed in the incident,” said Hebbe. 

Minutes later, police confronted Wilson, and he was shot and killed.

“Ultimately, we’re able to stop the suspect’s rampage that day,” Hebbe said. 

Since that tragic day, the city and the police department have worked together to help community members still trying to cope with what happened that day. 

“We brought in some councilors, we brought in various businesses that could help citizens to do the repairs, and do some of the things that they hadn’t been able to figure out to do alone, or they didn’t have the money to do alone,” said Hebbe.  

A year later, the sounds of birds, and peace in the neighborhood that has really pulled together to heal. 

“I’m really very proud of Farmington, it’s been a close-knit community on this incident,” said Hebbe.