Traffic stop ends with five dead

At least five people were dead after a gunman who hijacked a postal service vehicle in West Texas shot more than 20 people, authorities said yesterday. The gunman was killed and three law enforcement officers were among the injured.

Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said that in addition to the injured officers, there were at least 21 civilian shooting victims. He said at least five people died. He did not say whether the shooter was among the dead. It was not clear whether he was including the five dead among the at least 21 civilian shooting victims.

The shooting comes just weeks after a gunman in the Texas border city of El Paso killed 22 people after opening fire at a Walmart. Texas Governor Greg Abbott last week held two meetings with lawmakers about how to prevent mass more shootings in Texas. He said he would visit the area.

The shooting began with a traffic stop where gunfire was exchanged with police, setting off a chaotic afternoon during which the suspect hijacked a US Postal Service vehicle and began firing at random in the area of Odessa and Midland, hitting multiple people. Cell phone video showed people running out of the movie theater, and as Odessa television station KOSA aired breaking developments on live TV, their broadcast was interrupted by police telling them they had to clear the area.

Police initially reported that there could be more than one shooter, but Gerke says authorities now believe it was only one. ‘‘Once this individual was taken out of the picture, there have been no more victims,’’ Gerke said.

Gerke described the suspect as a white male in his 30s. He did not name him but said he has some idea who he is.

Russell Tippin, CEO of Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, said 14 shooting victims were being treated at the hospital but he did not give their conditions or other information about the victims. Social workers and professional counsellors are at the hospital to provide support to the families of shooting victims, Tippin said. He also said the hospital has been locked down for that safety of the staff and patients.

‘‘Right now the hospital is stable, it’s secure,’’ Tippin said.

–AP

AP Odessa and Midland police and sheriff’s deputies surround a van in Odessa, Texas, during a shooting spree that left five people dead.

AP A police helicopter flies over Odessa during the hunt for a gunman yesterday.