At least 5 dead in Midland-Odessa shootings

[Gman]

At least 5 dead in Midland-Odessa shootings

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.

[Irving]

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

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.

[Gman]

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.

[Gman]

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

[Irving]

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

[Gman]

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

[theGinsue]

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.

[theGinsue]

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

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"?

[wctriumph]

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.

[Gman]

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

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."