At least 5 dead in Midland-Odessa shootings

At least 5 dead in Midland-Odessa shootings

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At least five people are dead and 21 are injured after the Midland-Odessa shootings, according to Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke.

He said three law enforcement officers were injured -- from the Department of Public Safety (DPS), Midland Police Department and Odessa Police Department.

[Breaking news update: Posted 6:47 p.m. ET]

An active shooter was shot and killed in Odessa, Texas, according to the Midland Police Department.

[Previous update: Posted at 6:19 p.m. ET]

At least one person was killed and 10 wounded in West Texas, between the cities of Midland and Odessa, when a shooter or shooters fired from their vehicles at people at shopping centers, authorities said.

Police in Midland said officers are looking for two shooters in two separate vehicles, a gold, small Toyota truck and a US Postal Service van.

Devin Sanchez, a spokesman for the City of Odessa, said there are 10 confirmed injuries with possibly up to 20 injured. There is one person confirmed dead, he said. One of those who was shot is a law enforcement officer, but it is unclear if the officer is injured or dead, Sanchez said.

​Sanchez said someone in a gold Toyota was driving around shopping centers and shooting people from his vehicle. The area is near 32nd and 191, on the east side of Odessa.

Midland Police Department put on their Facebook page, "We believe there are two shooters in two separate vehicles. One suspect is believed to be at the Cinergy in Midland and the other is believed to be driving on Loop 250 in Midland. The two vehicles in question are: gold/white small Toyota truck and a USPS Postal Van. Please stay away from these areas and stay indoors."

The Odessa police Facebook page said the mail carrier truck was hijacked.

Sanchez says authorities are urging people to stay indoors.

A law enforcement official told CNN that agents from the FBI's Midland office are responding to assist with the incident. The Midland office is a satellite office of the FBI's El Paso division.

The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Dallas tweeted that agents would respond to the shooting.

Midland Memorial Hospital is currently on lockdown, and it is treating patients following the active shooting situation in Odessa and Midland, according to a post on their Facebook page.

According to a tweet, the University of Texas Permian Basin is on lockdown.

Attributable to the New York Police Department Counterterrorism Bureau via Twitter:
"We are closely monitoring the ongoing active shooter incident in Midland/Odessa, Texas"

Only four weeks ago, a gunman killed 22 people in a mass shooting in El Paso, located about 285 miles to the west of Odessa.

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Guy drove around Odessa and Midland Texas shooting people. Apparently at some point he stole a postal truck. Sounds like the usual initial reports of more than one shooter, now back down to just one. They are saying he's dead now. Five dead, 21 injured according to this article.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49540160

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A mass random shooting in the US state of Texas has left at least five people dead and many more injured, police say.At least one gunman shot randomly at people while driving round an area between the western cities of Odessa and Midland on Saturday afternoon.
A US Postal Service van was hijacked during the incident.
Police now say a suspect has been shot and killed, but reports of other suspects at large are being investigated.
A police spokesman confirmed five people had been killed and a further 21 had been injured. Police officers were among the victims, he told reporters.
The shootings come exactly four weeks after a gunman shot and killed 22 people and injured 24 others in the Texan city of El Paso.
Police Facebook updates

"A subject (possibly 2) is currently driving around Odessa shooting at random people," Odessa Police said in an Facebook post at the time of the shootings.
"At this time there are multiple gunshot victims. The suspect just hijacked a US mail carrier truck."
Police in the neighbouring city of Midland said: "We believe there are two shooters in two separate vehicles. The two vehicles in question are: gold/white small Toyota truck and a USPS Postal Van. Please stay away from these areas and stay indoors."
They later posted: "It has been confirmed that the active shooter was shot and killed at the Cinergy [cinema complex] in Odessa. There is no active shooter at this time. All agencies are investigating reports of possible suspects."
Trump briefed

In a tweet, US President Donald Trump said he was being kept informed about the shootings in Texas.

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According to the TV news, this spun off from a traffic stop. 3 officers shot. Driver hijacked the USPS vehicle to evade law enforcement. Bad guy is dead.

Seems almost like the officer was shot at the initial traffic stop, then the guy took off and was creating confusion by shooting random folks at multiple locations in an attempt to get away. <-- totally conjecture on my part

I saw a video supposedly from the shooting and it sounds like a LOT of rounds being fired.

Retired ATF guy on Fox News was speculating a rifle caliber weapon.

2 threads on same subject merged.

My heart breaks every time I hear about one of these events. The loonies somehow feel it's okay to cause harm to others. 5 dead and 21 injured. I'm sure we'll see something come out that this person was either a really bad apple or just plain nuts. Either way, innocent lives have been taken and many more will be adversely affected forever. As this is the second such event on TX in a month, we can be certain that the media and anti-gun politicians are already working on how to spin this into another "guns are the problem" scenario.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all innocent involved.

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Originally Posted by Gman

Retired ATF guy on Fox News was speculating a rifle caliber weapon.

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Would this be the same retired ATF guy who constantly shows up on TV after these types of events to espouse the dangers and horrors of firearms...particularly "assault weapons"?

CNN was on this most of yesterday and one female commentator made comments that the one thing all of these mass killings had in common was guns and that congress needs the political guts to take guns out of the hands of those that should not have tem, ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines. On and on, all day long was the call to ban and confiscate guns, regular people don't need weapons of war, no one needs a gun that can just spray bullets into crowds. It was just amazing how they are driving the take guns away from people that really don't need to own guns.

Prayers up for the victims and their families.

Texas shooting: Death toll rises to 7 in gunman's rampage

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The death toll rose to seven Sunday after a gunman's rampage that left many more injured following what began as a routine traffic stop Saturday in Odessa, police in the West Texas city said.

Police Chief Michael Gerke, at a news conference Sunday, said the victims ranged in age from 15 to 57. The 22 wounded at 15 crime scenes included three police officers and a 17-month old child, he said.

Gerke said a motive for the carnage was still being investigated. He declined to reveal the identity of the gunman, who Gerke said was armed with an "AR-type" weapon when he was killed in a shootout with police.

"I am not going to give him any notoriety for what he did," an emotional Gerke said. "We will provide that information to you, but not on this public stage."

Gerke said the shooter apparently acted alone, and authorities said there appeared to be no connection to terrorism.

The assault took place one day before a series, of gun law changes in state that ease restrictions on where Texans can carry or store firearms, from foster homes to churches. Abbot said Sunday that solutions are needed to keep guns out of the hands of criminals while securing second amendment rights.

"I have been to too many of these events," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said. "I am heartbroken by the crying of the people of state of Texas. I am tired of the dying."

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The problem isn't people, it's the guns.

https://www.vox.com/2015/10/3/944441...ngs-us-america

Vox quoting from Mother Jones and the usual suspects. More pap for the left. [Puke]

If guns were never needed and never existed, they wouldn't be a problem. Well, that fairy wonderland doesn't exist.

This wasn't a "mass shooting" it was a fleeing felon shooting it out with police ... I don't think for a moment he was "targeting innocent people" he was shooting at the cops and missing.

Clearly more gun control will magically make all crime cease and probably reverse global warming as well :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Zundfolge

This wasn't a "mass shooting" it was a fleeing felon shooting it out with police ... I don't think for a moment he was "targeting innocent people" he was shooting at the cops and missing.

Clearly more gun control will magically make all crime cease and probably reverse global warming as well :rolleyes:

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What are you talking about? Why would people have had to call in to the police to report him if he was already shooting at the police. Not even New York cops shoot 26 people on accident.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/sh...d-7/ar-AAGEueU

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ODESSA, Tex. — The 36-year-old man who terrorized two West Texas towns with an assault-style rifle Saturday had been fired from his trucking job a few hours before he led the authorities on a chaotic high-speed chase that ended with his death and the deaths of seven others.

Along a 15-mile stretch between the sister cities of Midland and Odessa, the aftermath of the gunman’s rampage — in which he indiscriminately fired on motorists and police officers with an AR-15-style rifle while driving — clashed with the typically serene and dusty rural landscape of the region.

On Sunday, the authorities continued to collect evidence from more than 15 crime scenes, scattered along highways, car dealerships and shopping malls, marked by police tape, bullet-riddled cars and a wrecked postal van the gunman had hijacked.

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Originally Posted by eddiememphis

The problem isn't people, it's the guns.

https://www.vox.com/2015/10/3/944441...ngs-us-america

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What a naive and senseless article. The writer says "More guns means more gun deaths. Period." This thought process plays out with the graphs and stats a repetitive premise that only in America, with more guns than people, there are more deaths by guns than anyplace else. Isn't this akin to saying "In countries where most citizens own cars there are more accidents and deaths from cars than in the countries that have banned civilian automobile ownership"? To that point, more people die from auto accidents/suicides than by firearms but no one (except AOC) is clamoring to remove peoples cars.

We all know that the problem most certainly IS NOT guns, but the people who choose to use them irresponsibly and maliciously. There will always be these type of people in the world and in our communities. The UK, after banning private firearm ownership has been seeing a huge uptick of attacks by people using knives; so much so that now knives are the item their government is looking to ban - and IS making the purchasing of knives increasingly difficult. People with ill intent will use whatever tool they can acquire to accomplish their goal. Period.

I grow weary of the ignorant pushing these anti-gun commentaries and legislation. I definitely fear living in a world where only the government has firearms.

If less people die in the increased knife attacks, then it's a moot point. Not trying to influence the debate beyond solid debate points.

You're right about that, T.

Approach from a different angle. One of sarcastic agreement. The fun one I created (and now used a lot) is "Antarctica had no firearm fatalities and no vehicular accident fatalities in 2018! The best solution is to adopt Antarctica's politics"

Idk if it's true stat, probably is. I've made that point a lot and they don't know how to handle it. Point is, they can't tell if your serious, and it's so far out there. Nobody even knows what Antarctic politics are. Even a flaming lib knows "uh they don't have car accidents because they aren't driving cars" and suddenly their own stat argument about UK or (insert country) seems.... weak even to them. So they don't know "how" to come up with a retort to that.

Crime > Violent crime > Murder rate per million people: Countries Compared

There's that hell-hole of a country, the United States, at #99. I'm sure those stats include suicide. Would be interesting with the suicide numbers separated.

Which tool or device was utilized in about 99% of these "mass shootings" to end the criminal behavior?

Now tell me again how the firearm is bad.

Like many of the other criminals, this most recent murderer will not be a recidivist. I support effective means to stop repeat offenders. I don't blame trigger fingers or dominant eyes for gun violence either.

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Originally Posted by Gman

Crime > Violent crime > Murder rate per million people: Countries Compared

There's that hell-hole of a country, the United States, at #99. I'm sure those stats include suicide. Would be interesting with the suicide numbers separated.

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Yes, thank you for this. As I recall, Bill Whittle did one of his videos which reflected the same information. Ah, but the left wants to keep the focus on the tool used - "the gun".."the gun".. I'm fairly certain that those folks murdered by other than firearms didn't give a rats ass what tool was being used to kill them, only that they were being killed.

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Originally Posted by cstone

Which tool or device was utilized in about 99% of these "mass shootings" to end the criminal behavior?

Now tell me again how the firearm is bad.

Like many of the other criminals, this most recent murderer will not be a recidivist. I support effective means to stop repeat offenders. I don't blame trigger fingers or dominant eyes for gun violence either.

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Amen!

Timothy McVeigh and the Rosenburg's were executed almost immediate.. The Rosenberg's were selling secrets/spying and the feds did not waste anytime....

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Originally Posted by cstone

Which tool or device was utilized in about 99% of these "mass shootings" to end the criminal behavior?

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Yep. Almost all of them. Except in Dallas. We don't need no stinkin' guns. We'll just blow that fucker up with a bomb!

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Originally Posted by BREATHER

Timothy McVeigh and the Rosenburg's were executed almost immediate.. The Rosenberg's were selling secrets/spying and the feds did not waste anytime....

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Is the death penalty really a deterrent to crazy people that want to go out in a blaze of glory? I doubt it enters their minds.

That's not the point.... But now that you mention crazies, I worked for the Mental Health Corporation of Denver (and yes it is a corporation)A ten years ago apparently I pissed one of them off at the site I worked at. Months later it came to my attention the said person told his "therapist/case manger" that he was going to shoot me. Months later is when I found out... These "professionals" have the right to warn. Had I know I could have at the very least avoided this man. More recently, I caught a tweaker in my jeep Asshole pulled a knife on me, I was not carrying, he beat feet when I started to pull my knife. Then I was told I was not supposed to carry a knife. Then they put up security cameras/ Guarantee all that effort was to catch employees doing shit. They did not monitor the cameras, only look at the recording's after the fact. I do not work there any longer.

So this story has disappeared from the headlines. What part of the story no longer fits the narrative?

It's out there. You just have to scroll down from "OMG Dorian!"

Odessa shooter failed gun background check, Gov. Greg Abbott says

BATFE prosecutes an extremely tiny percentage of applicants where they have lied on the application. There are laws, but they aren't enforced. This means we need more laws, right?

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted Monday that the gunman in Saturday's mass shooting in Midland and Odessa had previously failed a gun purchase background check and did not go through a background check to buy the gun used in Saturday's incident.

Abbott's tweet did not say why the 36-year-old Odessa man didn't pass the background check or how he obtained the rifle he used to kill seven people and injure 22 others ? including a state trooper and two police officers. The gunman died after a shootout with police outside a Midland movie theater.

Abbott also cited the shooter's criminal history.

"We must keep guns out of criminals' hands," he said.

The Austin American-Statesman reported that the gunman was arrested for evading arrest and criminal trespass in McLennan County in 2001, when he was 18, and received deferred adjudication ? a form of probation ? after pleading guilty to both misdemeanor charges. In Texas, only convictions for felonies or domestic violence misdemeanors block people from legally buying a gun.

Abbott could not be immediately reached for comment.

In Texas, licensed dealers must conduct background checks through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS. However, there are exceptions to this rule, such as if the buyer already has a Texas license to carry a handgun. Private sales between individuals also do not require a criminal background check, which includes some gun sales at gun shows.

Also on Monday, Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said the gunman had been fired from his job just before the shooting. Gerke said the gunman and his boss at an oilfield services company got into a verbal altercation and both the gunman and the company called 911 to report the incident. The gunman also called the FBI's tip line, Gerke said.

FBI Special Agent Christopher Collins said the gunman was "rambling" but not threatening when he called the tip line.

The shooting spree began 15 minutes after that call when two Texas Department of Public Safety troopers pulled over the man for a traffic violation and he shot and wounded one of the troopers with a rifle. He then began driving around Midland and Odessa, randomly shooting at people. At some point he ditched his car, fatally shot a 29-year-old U.S. Postal Service letter carrier and continued shooting people from the postal van.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated one of the exceptions to the NICS background check requirement. Holding a state license to carry a handgun is an exception to the requirement.

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...did not go through a background check to buy the gun used...

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Abbott's tweet did not say why the 36-year-old Odessa man didn't pass the background check or how he obtained the rifle he used...

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Why say "buy" when you don't know how it was obtained?

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Originally Posted by Rooskibar03

So this story has disappeared from the headlines. What part of the story no longer fits the narrative?

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What's left to talk about?

Lying to buy a gun? Don’t worry about the feds.

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If you lied to buy a firearm, fear not the feds.

Your chances of being prosecuted by the Justice Department for falsifying information to illegally buy a gun are almost zero.

Reviews by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System in fiscal 2017 led to 112,000 gun-purchase denials because people were in forbidden categories, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated 12,700 of those cases.

How many of the investigated cases resulted in prosecutions?

Twelve.

That’s 0.09 percent of the cases ATF investigated.

That means the crooks, the wife beaters and the homicidal maniacs who lie to get a gun have little reason to worry that Uncle Sam will get them for faking on Form 4473. It lists nine questions designed to cull those who should not be strapped. The questions include: “Have you ever been convicted in any court of a felony,” “Are you a fugitive from justice,” and “Have you ever been adjudicated as a mental defective.”

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...but background checks work. [Sarcasm2]

They're statistically worthless, yet a lot of money is spent on them. I guess it makes some people feel better.

I remember during the previous presidential election, Biden was asked about why they didn't prosecute people who failed background checks, and his response was basically "ain't nobody got time for that, we need to pass new gun control laws."

Our politicians do little more than campaign. Every thing they do is under the microscope of 'how this can influence my re-election'. You can pretty much break down the government we have now with this:
- You can get publicity and a photo-op for making new laws.
- You really get no publicity for enforcing existing laws.

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/...d-sold-report/

Uh oh. There go the 80% kits.

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Originally Posted by eddiememphis

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/...d-sold-report/

Uh oh. There go the 80% kits.

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Eddie nailed it. Part of the narrative...

Mostly fluff in that article. Shouldn't waste you time.