Shooter targets people at shopping centers in West Texas | CNN (2024)

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke condemned the West Texas shooting via a statement on Twitter Saturday:

Democratic candidate Julián Castro also released a series of tweets saying “We have to be more honest with ourselves. This is going to happen again. And again.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren called out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Former vice president Joe Biden said “we must end this epidemic.”

Sen. Kamala Harris said in a series of tweets she’s “sick of this” and that “Our children deserve a future without multiple mass shootings in one month.”

Sen. Cory Booker said he’d take “executive action to reduce gun violence” beginning his first day in the White House.

Sen. Michael Bennet tweeted “West Texas has had enough heartbreak.”

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted the cyle of mass shootings and waiting on the news cycle must end.

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said the shooting in Alabama that left 10 injured and the West Texas shooting were “not normal.”

Candidate John Delaney tweeted “people deserve to be safe driving down the highway, going to church, going to school, everywhere.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar said the playbook of broken promises and meetings needs to end.

Candidates Pete Buttigieg, Wayne Messam, Tim Ryan, Joe Sestak, Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang also released statements on Twitter.

The Ector County Independent School District tweeted Saturday that one of its students was killed in Saturday’s shooting. The school district is based in Odessa, Texas

“ECISD counselors as well as counselors from the region are preparing to help our staff, our students,” the district tweeted.

A 17-month-old girl was injured in the West Texas shooting Saturday, according to University Medical Center spokesman Eric Finley. UMC is in Lubbock, Texas.

The toddler is in satisfactory condition, Finley said.

Finley declined to comment on the nature of the girl’s injuries.

Authorities believe they have positively identified the person responsible for today’s shootings in West Texas, a law enforcement official familiar with the ongoing investigation told CNN.

Local authorities are currently seeking court authorization to search an address associated with the identified shooter.

FBI resources from the bureau’s offices in Dallas, San Antonio and El Paso are en route to the Midland area to assist with the investigation of Saturday’s mass shooting, a law enforcement source told CNN.

The resources include forensic examiners who will assist local investigators in processing multiple crime scenes associated with the shooting, the official said.

This is the second mass shooting in Texas in August. Only four weeks ago, a gunman killed 22 people in a mass shooting in El Paso, about 285 miles west of Odessa.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a statement on the West Texas shooting Saturday:

Department of Public Safety troopers were trying to stop the shooting suspect’s vehicle because of a “traffic violation,” DPS Lt. Elizabeth Carter told CNN.

It’s not clear what the traffic violation was, Carter said.

She said that prior to coming to a complete stop, the suspect fired several shots at the DPS patrol unit, injuring one of the officers.

The trooper is in serious but stable condition, Carter said.

The suspect also shot a Midland police officer and an Odessa police officer, both of whom are in stable condition.

The suspect in Saturday’s West Texas shooting was armed with a rifle, according to Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Elizabeth Carter.

According to Carter, the DPS trooper who was shot is in serious but stable condition. The Midland and Odessa police officers who were shot are also in stable condition at the hospital.

Russell Tippin, CEO of Medical Center Health Systemin Odessa, told reporters Saturday that 13 people arrived at the center after the shooting.

Of the 13, two were treated and released, Tippin said. One of the patients was a child younger than 2 who was flown to a pediatric center in either Lubbock or Dallas, a hospital official said.

Seven patients are in critical condition, meaning they’ve gone through or have been released from surgery. Two are in serious condition and one died.

The shootings in West Texas took place a day before a series of new state laws easing gun restrictions were set to take effect.

The new laws were passed in August and will go into effect Sunday, September 1.

Among the new laws:

The NRAinformed their membersof the new laws on Thursday, stating that the bills were “protecting your second amendment rights.”

Speaking to reporters before boarding a plane for Poland on Saturday, Vice President Mike Pence addressed the shootings in West Texas:

Pence said he and the Trump administration “remain absolutely determined to work with leaders in both parties in Congress to take steps that we can address and confront this scourge of mass atrocity in our country.”

Cinergy Entertainment Group, which operates the theater where police shot and killed a suspect, released a statement on the West Texas shooting:

Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said earlier Saturday that the shooting suspect was shot and killed outside a Cinergy movie theater in Odessa.

The University of Texas Permian Basin in Odessa was on lockdown earlier Sunday, according to the school’s Twitter account.

UTPB is asking all students who live on-campus to check-in with the school to verify they are safe.

UTPB said students who do not live on campus, but may have been affected by the shooting, should contact the vice president of student development.

UTPB also said they will have counseling services available Saturday night beginning at 7 p.m. CDT.

The US Postal Service is working with law enforcement at the scene of theshooting.

“There are inspectors on the scene and inspectors en route to assist with the investigation,” USPS Inspection Service spokeswoman Silvia Torres told CNN.

Torres declined to comment on the condition of the mail carrier whose truck was stolen by the shooting suspect.

Earlier in a news conference, Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said he “would assume (the mail carrier) is part of the victim list,” but was unsure of of the carrier’s status.

Alex Woods recorded video of the shootout between police and a suspect outside of the Cinergy movie theater in Odessa.

“When we had arrived about five minutes before the shooting had begun, I hadno clue the shooterwas even there,” Woods told CNN. “There was just police everywhere and there was a bunch of people behind the theater in the field walking and next thing you know this gunfire is going off.”

“Next thing you know, Iheara pop, so, I flip the camera to where the theatersatand I just see a bunch of gunfire going off,” Woods said.

“I could see the officer walking uptothemail vanand discharging his weapon into it, and I believethat is when the shooter was killed.”

Woods said it was a very surreal moment.

“I never thought it would happen in life,” he said. “It just all happened so quickly.”

There are currently 14 victims being treated at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, according to CEO RussellTippin.No ages or conditions were provided.

The hospital has a family staging area with grief counselors and social workers to provide support, Tippin said.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released a statement on Twitter, in which he expressed his horror and thanked first responders.

Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said the suspect of the Midland-Odessa shootings was a white male in his mid-30s.

The incident began at 3:17 p.m. CDT, when a Department of Public Safety officer attempted to make a traffic stop on a gold Honda, Gerke said. When the vehicle came to a stop, the occupant shot the officer.

The vehicle drove westbound into Odessa, where another person was shot. The suspect continued through Odessa to 42nd Street, where Gerke said “there were multiple victims.”

The suspect abandoned his vehicle and stole a USPS mail truck, Gerke said. There were other victims after that, he added.

The suspect then drove eastbound toward the Cinergy movie theater, where he and officers exchanged fire. The suspect was fatally shot in the exchange, Gerke said.

Hear more from the police:

Witness Alex Woods recorded a video outside of the Cinergy movie theater, where police shot and killed a suspect. A barrage of gunshots can be heard on the recording.

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.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott released a statement on the Midland-Odessa shootings:

Abbott will be traveling to Odessa Sunday morning.

A law enforcement official told CNN that agents from the FBI’s Midland office are assisting law enforcement with their response to the shootings.

The Midland office is a satellite of the FBI’s El Paso division.

A witness inside a restaurant on 42nd Street in Odessa filmed officers in tactical gear preparing to respond to the shootings.

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

Midland Mayor Jerry Morales said one person was killed and 21 others injured in Saturday’s shootings in the Midland-Odessa area.

Two officers were also injured in the shootings, Morales said.

Morales said a Texas Department of Public Safety officer and a Midland police officer both suffered non life-threatening injuries.

“We are hoping that this was just one shooter and we have contained him,” Morales told CNN.

President Donald Trump tweeted that he has been briefed on the shootings by Attorney General William Barr.

Ernest Villanueva told CNN a “shooter was going around shooting moving vehicles.”

Villanueva snapped two photos of vehicles with bullet holes in them.

Villanueva also tweeted that people should stay off Interstate 20 between Odessa and Midland.

ATF Dallas tweeted they are responding to the shootings in Odessa and Midland.

David Wheatley snapped a photo of the shooting scene while driving on Highway 191 between Odessa and Midland, Texas.

Denise Perez told CNN her boss, a truck driver with Odessa Furniture Exchange, had his truck shot at while out on delivery.

“Everyone is OK, he was doing a delivery with a delivery truck when someone in a truck drove past him and shot his truck and another person’s car,” Perez said.

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White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham says that President Donald Trump has been briefed on the situation in Texas. She says the White House is monitoring the situation.

Midland Police Department released a statement 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.”