CLOVIS, N.M.
A shooting inside a public library that killed two people and wounded four has deeply shaken an eastern New Mexico community.
The gunman surrendered after the shooting Monday and was taken into custody without incident after police entered the Clovis Carver Public Library, authorities and elected officials with the city of Clovis said during a news conference. Warrants for his arrest were being prepared, but it wasn’t immediately clear what charges he would face.
Clovis Mayor David Lansford said things could have been much worse had it not been for the quick response, training and courage of police. He called the shooting tragic and senseless.
“This is a big blow to our community,” he said. “Our community is a community that places a high value on life and the sanctity of life. And each life that lives in this community is precious. So we’re all hurting right now as a result of what took place this afternoon.”
Clovis, a city of about 40,000, is about 200 miles east of Albuquerque, near the Texas state line. The area is home to Cannon Air Force Base. The nearby community of Portales is home to Eastern New Mexico University.
The injured included two men and two women, authorities said. Some were taken to a hospital across the state line in Lubbock, Texas. The extent of their injuries was not immediately known.
One woman was seen being helped into an ambulance while a call for air ambulances could be heard over police radio traffic.
The names of the victims and the gunman were not released.
A woman who was in the library when the man started shooting said the man told her to run, the Eastern New Mexico News reported Monday night.
Lisa Baird told the newspaper that she was about 20 feet from the man as he opened fire inside the library.
“Run!,” he yelled at her. “Why aren’t you running? I’m shooting at you! Run!”
Baird talked to the newspaper through Facebook Messenger. She said she was talking with a library patron when she says she heard a “very loud bang.”
Police Chief Doug Ford says the suspect did not resist after police arrived.
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