Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Texas sees second mass shooting in month; at least five people dead
ODESSA, Texas — A gunman opened fire Saturday in West Texas, killing at least 5 people and shooting more than 20 before he was killed by officers outside a movie theater, authorities said. Three law enforcement officers were among the injured.
Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said at a news conference Saturday evening that in addition to the injured officers, there were at least 21 civilians shot. He did not say whether the shooter was included among the five dead, and it was not clear whether he was including the five dead among the at least 21 civilian victims.
The shooting comes just weeks after a gunman opened fire Aug. 3 in the Texas border city of El Paso, killing 22 people at a Walmart store. Last week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott held two meetings with lawmakers to discuss how to prevent more mass shootings in his state. He said he would visit the Odessa area today.
Saturday’s shooting began about midafternoon when Texas state troopers on Interstate 20 tried to pull over a gold car for failing to signal a left turn, Texas Department
of Public Safety spokesman Katherine Cesinger said.
Before the car came to a complete stop, the driver “pointed a rifle toward the rear window of his car and fired several shots” toward the patrol car behind him.
Bullets struck one of two troopers in the patrol car, Cesinger said, after which the gunman fled.
At some point, the gunman stole a U.S. Postal Service vehicle and then began firing shots at random in and around Odessa and Midland, injuring multiple people, including two more police officers.
Cellphone video showed people running out of the Cinergy movie theater in Odessa, and as Odessa television station KOSA aired breaking news live, its broadcast was interrupted by police telling reporters to clear the area. The gunman was shot in that theater.
The shooting sent ripples of fear through the two cities, which were placed on lockdown for much of the afternoon. Students at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin were told to shelter in place.
The Texas Department of Public Safety urged people during the shooting to avoid major highways in the area.
Police initially reported that there were possibly more than one gunman, but Gerke said Saturday evening that authorities now believe there was only one.
“Once this individual was taken out of the picture, there have been no more victims,” Gerke said.
Gerke described the gunman as a white man in his 30s. He did not name the suspect or a motive but said he has some idea who the gunman is.
Hours after the shooting, seven people were in critical condition at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, said Russell Tippin, the hospital’s CEO. He said an injured child who was under 2 years old was transported to another hospital.
One injured person had died at the hospital. It was unclear if that victim was among the five that Gerke reported as killed.
Tippin said 13 shooting victims were being treated at the hospital Saturday evening. He did not reveal their medical conditions or provide additional information.
“There are a lot of people hurt and a lot of people scared,” Odessa Mayor David Turner said in a brief interview Saturday afternoon as he drove back to the city from Fort Worth. “In a situation like this, prayer is the most important thing. We’ll get through this.”
In a statement Saturday, Republican governor Abbott said he was “heartbroken over this senseless and cowardly attack.”
“We offer our unwavering support to the victims, their families and all the people of Midland and Odessa,” he said. “I want to remind all Texans that we will not allow the Lone Star State to be overrun by hatred and violence. We will unite, as Texans always do, to respond to this tragedy.”
On Saturday night, President Donald Trump tweeted that he had been briefed about the shooting by Attorney General William Barr.
“FBI and Law Enforcement is fully engaged,” he wrote.
Vice President Mike Pence said Trump and his administration “remain absolutely determined” to work with leaders in both parties in Congress to take such steps “so we can address and confront this scourge of mass atrocities in our country.”
Preparing to fly to Poland, Pence told reporters that Trump is “fully engaged” and closely monitoring the situation. He said, “Our hearts go out to all the victims, the families and loved ones.” He also commended law enforcement “for their swift, courageous response.”
CHAOS IN SECONDS
Junior Bejarano, a 20-yearold busser at the Twin Peaks restaurant in Odessa, said he had just finished cleaning a table when he heard a gunshot outside about 4:30 p.m.
“It was chaos in a matter of seconds,” he said. “People were screaming, flipping chairs, dropping plates.”
A few minutes later, he and some employees walked outside and saw that there were several bullet-hit cars in the turning lane of East 42nd Street and Parkway Boulevard.
He heard a woman screaming and ran to her car with some co-workers.
Inside, he said, he saw a baby girl in a car seat whose face, shirt and lap were covered in blood. One of his co-workers, who is a paramedic, tended to the child until on-duty paramedics arrived. He said the baby appeared to have been shot in the shoulder.
Inside another car in the turning lane, Bejarano said, an older woman was hyperventilating after a bullet had apparently passed through her car’s passenger window and then through her driver’s side window, just missing her.
“She was just shaking,” he said. She was bleeding, but the injuries appeared to be from the broken glass, not a bullet. “She really couldn’t talk.”
The shooting rattled Bejarano and others, who said they never expected to see their town’s name on national news and trending on social media — and were horrified that it was.
Another witness, Ernest Villanueva, 24, said he was driving west on Interstate 20 from Midland to Odessa when he passed a blue pickup and a silver sedan riddled with bullet holes. The vehicles were empty, Villanueva said, adding that he saw Midland police vehicles speeding toward Odessa.
The Aug. 3 shooting in El Paso remains raw in Texas, and the attack Saturday revived some of the anxiety and fear for many people. A handful of those wounded in the Walmart shooting remain hospitalized, and the newly formed Texas Safety Commission held only its second meeting Thursday to discuss how to combat domestic terrorism and extremist groups in the state.
Faith Sanchez, 20, a sophomore at Odessa College, said in a phone interview that the Walmart shooting in El Paso last month had been weighing heavily on her mind. She had gone to eat at a Texas Roadhouse with her family Saturday.
“While we were eating, everyone was just kind of panicking and wondering if we should go outside,” Sanchez said. “They informed us that there was a lockdown.”
“We never thought this would happen here,” she added. “So many people are just in shock. We’re scared.”