[ad_1]
After firing at a roadside check Saturday in Midland, the shooter drove into the streets and onto the highway, firing bullets at random on locals and motorists.
He then hijacked a postal truck and dropped his golden Honda, firing at people as he headed for Odessa about thirty miles away. There, the police confronted him in a movie car park and killed him in a shootout.
Injured victims on Saturday included a 17-month-old girl and three law enforcement officers, hospital and police officials said.
It is unclear why the police intercepted the unidentified gunman and why. The Odessa police chief, Michael Gerke, described him as a white man of about thirty years but refused to provide additional information.
He grabbed his rifle and pointed it towards the officers
The chaotic afternoon started at 3:13 pm. local hour.
Two soldiers from the Texas Department of Public Safety arrested an isolated driver during a highway check on Interstate 20 heading west to Midland, authorities said.
Before the vehicle came to a complete stop, the man grabbed a rifle, indicated his rear window and fired at the soldiers' patrol unit, wounding one of the soldiers, said Lt. Elizabeth Carter of the Ministry. of Public Security.
The shooter then headed west to Odessa and continued shooting around the city and around shopping malls, the police chief said.
He abandoned his vehicle, stole a mail truck and shot other people while he was heading to Cinergy Cinema, where he exchanged shots with officers in the parking lot.
At first, the authorities had hinted that there were two shooters because they thought that the man in the mail truck was different than the Honda, the police said.
Among the victims was a 17-month-old girl
One of the three wounded police officers was a soldier from the Department of Public Safety and the other two police departments from Midland and Odessa. The soldier is in serious condition and the officers are in a stable state.
The police did not reveal details about the people killed or injured and the US Postal Service refused to comment on the state of the mail whose truck had been stolen. The Ector County School District in Odessa stated that one of his students was among the victims.
The 17-month-old girl was airlifted to the Lubbock University Medical Center, where she was in satisfactory condition, hospital officials said.
Witness describes shootings with officers
Alex Woods arrived at the movie theater about five minutes before the shooting and saw several police vehicles equipped with flashing lights.
"There was just police everywhere and there was a group of people behind the theater on the ground walking and the next thing you know these shots are fired," he said. "I hear a sound, so I turn the camera over to where the theater is and I just see a series of shots fired."
Woods said he saw the agent enter the van and shoot, describing the incident as surreal.
"I think it's at that moment that the shooter was killed," he added. "Everything happened so fast."
Mike Barrett said his friend was shot and hospitalized.
"He was on his way home, he and his wife … he got shot," Barrett said. "He went through the car door and shot him right next … his wife was just covered in blood."
Texas Firearms Laws Will Come into Effect Today
The shooting took place just hours before the coming into force of a series of gun laws in Texas, where four of the 10 most deadly mass shootings in modern day history United States took place.
After the Saturday shootout, Democratic presidential candidates issued statements calling for firearms reform.
Julián Castro, another Democratic presidential candidate, said the shooting would continue if no action was taken. "We have to be more honest with ourselves, it's going to happen again, and again," he tweeted.
Vice President Mike Pence said that President Donald Trump and himself were determined to work with Congress "to tackle this scourge of mass atrocities in our country."
Ralph Ellis from CNN contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link