At least 5 dead in Midland-Odessa shootings
At least 5 dead in Midland-Odessa shootings
Quote:
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.
Random shootings from a vehicle in Texas
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
Quote:
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.