US police shoot man dead after responding to wrong address
US authorities in north-western
New Mexico have released body camera footage of police officers opening fire and killing a home owner after they showed up at the wrong address in response to a domestic violence call.
The video released by the Farmington Police Department on Friday — just over a week after the April 5 night-time shooting — showed officers arriving at the home.
They walked up to the front door, passing the address that was posted on the home and illuminated by an exterior light, knocked on the door and announced themselves.
While knocking twice more, the officers can be heard asking a dispatcher to confirm the address and to tell the caller to come to the door. The dispatcher states the address of a home across the street.
It was soon after that the home owner, armed with a handgun, opened the door and the officers immediately began shooting, firing multiple rounds as they backed away. The man can be seen dropping to the ground.
About a minute afterwards, a woman can be heard screaming inside the home and more shots ring out.
Authorities have said the man's wife returned fire from the doorway, not knowing who was outside, prompting the officers to fire again.
She was not injured but could be heard screaming and crying after the second volley of shots were fired.
The US has the world's second highest gun death rate, after Brazil.
In contrast to the U.S. and Latin America, gun deaths are extremely rare in countries like Japan, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Australia. These countries have implemented incentives or passed legislation to decrease the number of firearms in circulation. For example, in July 2021, Australia implemented a permanent gun amnesty program, in which unregistered firearms could be anonymously surrendered at police stations.