Texas shooting: High school student among seven dead
As details of some of the seven victims of a mass shooting in Texas were made public, US news outlets have also named the gunman.
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The death toll in a Texas shooting rampage has risen to seven as US authorities try to understand why a man stopped by police for failing to use his blinker opened fire on them and sped off.
It comes as the shooter was named as 36-year-old Seth Ator.
Online court records show Ator was arrested in 2001 for a misdemeanor offence that would not have prevented him from legally purchasing firearms in Texas, although authorities have not said where Ator got his weapon.
Ator acted alone and federal investigators believe the shooter had no ties to any domestic or international terrorism group, FBI special agent Christopher Combs said.
Ator shot more than 20 people before later being killed by officers at a movie theatre car park in yet another shooting that has left America reeling.
Odessa police spokesman Steve LeSueur confirmed on Sunday (local time) that two additional victims had died in the hospital and at least one of the 19 others injured remains in a “life-threatening” condition.
Police have not named any victims but several have been publicly identified by family members.
Among those killed was 15-year-old high school student Leila Hernandez, whose loved ones described her as a “sweet girl with a big heart”.
The tragic teen’s brother Nathan was also injured in the rampage and has undergone surgery, according to a GoFundMe that has raised over $US14,000 ($A20,000) for the Hernandez family as of Sunday afternoon (local time).
Postwoman Mary Granados was shot and killed when the gunman stole her van as she was delivering mail.
US Postal Service officials said in a statement that they were “shocked and saddened” by the events, but were “especially grieving the loss of our postal family member.”
Three police officers were also wounded in the shooting. One, Zack Owens, was shot multiple times in the arm and hand and suffered glass shards in his eye, according to a GoFundMe campaign set up by his family.
Great job by Texas Law Enforcement and First Responders in handling the terrible shooting tragedy yesterday. Thank you also to the FBI, @GregAbbott_TX and all others. A very tough and sad situation!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 1, 2019
BABY’S MIRACULOUS SURVIVAL
It comes as a 17-month-old baby who was wounded during the shooting has miraculously survived.
It’s understood that little Anderson Davis was hit with a bullet fragment that knocked out her front teeth and left a hole in her bottom lip.
An online fundraiser was started by a woman who claims to know the family, which included a message from the baby’s mother. It has since raised more than $US110,000 ($A163,000).
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Anderson is recovering but faces surgery on Monday to remove shrapnel from her right chest. She also suffered injuries to her face.
Abbott says the mother texted: “Her mouth is pretty bad, but will heal and can be fixed. Thankfully it doesn’t seem like her jaw was hit. Just lips, teeth and tongue...We are thanking God for healing her and appreciate continued prayers.”
Daniel Munoz, 28, of Odessa, was headed to a bar to meet a friend when he noticed the driver of an approaching car was holding what appeared to be a rifle.
“This is my street instincts: When a car is approaching you and you see a gun of any type, just get down,” said Munoz, who moved from San Diego about a year ago to work in oil country.
“Luckily I got down. ... Sure enough, I hear the shots go off. He let off at least three shots on me.”
He said he was treated at a hospital and is physically OK, though bewildered by the experience.
“I’m just trying to turn the corner and I got shot - I’m getting shot at? What’s the world coming to? For real?”
POLICE ‘WON’T NAME’ SHOOTER
Meanwhile, a Texas police chief refused to utter the name of the mass shooter who used an “AR-type weapon” to kill seven and injure 22 after a routine traffic stop.
“You’ll notice that I’m not naming this subject. I refuse to,” Odessa police chief Michael Gerke said at a press conference on Sunday (local time).
“I’m not going to give him any notoriety for what he did.”
Chief Gerke confirmed that the killer used an “AR-type weapon” — and they believe he planned an even bigger massacre before he was shot dead by police outside a cinema.
“It begs the question, why go to the theatre if you have not planned on entering the theatre?” Chief Gerke said.
“On a Saturday afternoon in Odessa, Texas, that is one of the most crowded places to be.
“There’s no way of knowing without talking to him, and we can’t talk to him. But he showed up at a movie theatre which would tend to show his motives.”
Chief Gerke said that initial reports of more than one gunman came because the killer had hijacked a mail van during his massacre.
“There are no definitive answers as to motive or reasons at this point but we are fairly certain that the subject did act alone,” he said.
The FBI, meanwhile, does not believe it is connected to “domestic or international terrorism.”
Chief Gerke confirmed that three police officers were among the 22 injured while “very, very sadly” seven people were killed.
“My heart aches for all,” he said of the victims who were aged between 15 and 57.
‘F***ED UP’
After his rampage, the shooter was killed at a cinema complex car park.
His death was reportedly captured on video.
The massacre in the neighbouring cities of Midland and Odessa came exactly a month after a mass shooting in the US-Texas border town of El Paso that killed 22.
US President Donald Trump thanked Texas police and emergency services for their handling of “the terrible shooting tragedy” on Twitter.
Profanity is not the f-bomb. What is profane is a 17 month-old baby being shot in the face. pic.twitter.com/mUuK12Rxbp
— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) September 1, 2019
“It could have been a lot worse,” he said in a press stop broadcast on CNN.
“It’s a big problem, it’s a mental problem,” he said, without referring to it as a gun problem.
Democratic presidential candidate and El Paso, Texas native Beto O’Rourke called for an end to the epidemic of gun violence, referring to it as “f***ed up” in an interview on CNN.
HOW THE SHOOTING UNFOLDED
The shooting began on Saturday afternoon (local time) at a traffic stop where gunfire was exchanged with police, setting off a chaotic rampage during which the suspect hijacked a mail van and began firing at random as he drove in the area of Odessa and Midland, two cities in the heart of Texas oil country about 483 kilometres west of Dallas.
Police initially reported that there could be more than one shooter, but Chief Gerke said authorities believe it was one shooter.
“Once this individual was taken out of the picture, there have been no more victims,” Chief Gerke said.
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The terrifying chain of events began when Texas state troopers tried pulling over a gold car for failing to signal a left turn, Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said.
Before the vehicle 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 stopping him. The gunshots struck one of two troopers inside the patrol car, Ms Cesinger said, after which the gunman fled and continued shooting, including two other police officers.
Gerke said that in addition to the injured officers, there were at least 22 civilian shooting victims.
Shauna Saxton was one of the terrified drivers who said she was a target during his rampage. She was driving with her husband and grandson in Odessa and had paused at a stoplight when they heard loud pops.
“I looked over my shoulder to the left and the gold car pulled up and the man was there and he had a very large gun and it was pointing at me,” she told TV station KOSA.
Saxton said she was trapped because there were two cars in front of her. “I started honking my horn. I started swerving and we got a little ahead of him and then for whatever reason the cars in front of me kind of parted,” she said sobbing. She said that their vehicle escaped from the shooter and they heard three more shots as they sped away.
“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 Postal truck. 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.”
A video shot by a bystander shows people fleeing the cinema, screaming “There’s a shooter” as police headed inside.
Four weeks after the carnage at El Paso, America is once again grappling with gun violence after a spate of recent mass shootings.
“There is an epidemic in America. It is taking lives and shattering communities across the country,” Democratic National Convention Chair Tom Perez said.
“Today, we reached the point where when we talk about ‘this month’s mass shooting in Texas,’ we have to ask ‘Which one? El Paso or Odessa-Midland?’ When we talk about the ‘mass shooting in Aurora,’ we have to ask ‘Which Aurora? Illinois or Colorado?’ When we talk about the ‘mass shooting in Orlando,’ we have to ask ‘Which time? 2016 or 2017?’”
Originally published as Texas shooting: High school student among seven dead