2019 — Aug 31, Shooting rampage (7 killed by shooter), Midland-Odessa area, TX — 8

lornajarrettblanchard August 31, 2019

–8 CNN. “Gunman in West Texas shooting identified as Seth Ator.” 9-1-2019.

–7 NBC News. “Death toll in Odessa shooting rises to 7…” 9-1-2019.

Narrative Information

Sep 1: “Odessa, Texas (CNN) — Law enforcement officials on Sunday identified the man who killed seven people and wounded 22 others in a shooting spree in West Texas as Seth Ator, 36.

“Ator was arrested in 2001 for criminal trespass and evading arrest, both misdemeanors, according to public records. Adjudication was deferred, though the details of the case were not immediately available. His record also includes a 2018 traffic citation for a federal motor carrier safety violation, according to Ector County court records.

“Ator was pulled over by Texas troopers in Midland on Saturday afternoon for failing to use his signal, police said. He then shot at them with what police described as an AR-type weapon and sped away. Driving on streets and the highway, he sprayed bullets randomly at residents and motorists, police said. The man then hijacked a postal truck and ditched his gold Honda, shooting at people as he made his way into Odessa about 20 miles away. There, police confronted him in a movie theater parking lot and killed him in a shootout….

“FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs said his agency responds to Texas frequently. He said the FBI is ‘here now almost every other week supporting our local and state partners on active shooters. We’re almost every two weeks an active shooter in this country.’

“The death toll rose to seven Sunday morning. Those fatally shot were between 15 and 57 years old, Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said.

“Police have not named most of the victims. One of them was Mary Granados, 29, who was working as a mail carrier for the US Postal Service, according to her twin sister, Rosie, and a spokeswoman for the USPS Inspection Service. Granados was at the end of her shift when she was shot and killed, her sister said, adding she was on the phone with Granados when she heard her scream….

“The incident began about 3:15 p.m. (4:15 p.m. ET), when two troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety stopped a lone driver westbound on Interstate 20 in Midland, authorities said. The shooter then drove west into Odessa and continued firing through the city and around shopping centers, the police chief said. He abandoned his vehicle, stole the mail truck and shot at more people as he headed toward the Cinergy movie theater, where he exchanged fire with officers in the parking lot and was killed.

“A witness describes shootout with officers. Alex Woods said he drove up to the movie theater about five minutes before the shootout and saw several police vehicles with flashing lights. ‘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,’ he said. ‘I hear a pop, so, I flip the camera to where the theater’s at and I just see a bunch of gunfire going off.’ Woods said he saw the officer walk up to the mail van and fire into it, describing the incident as surreal. ‘I believe that is when the shooter was killed,’ he added. ‘It just all happened so quickly.’….

“The shooting happened hours before a series of firearm laws go into effect in Texas, where four of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern US history have happened. The new measures will loosen gun restrictions and allow weapons on school grounds, apartments and places of worship. After the shooting Saturday, Democratic presidential candidates issued statements calling for gun reform….” (CNN. “Gunman in West Texas shooting identified as Seth Ator.” 9-1-2019.)

Sep 1: “….The rampage began after the suspect, in a gold Honda, was the subject of a 3:17 p.m. traffic stop between Midland and Odessa, officials said Saturday. The gunman shot the trooper who initially stopped him and continued west to Odessa, where he shot multiple others, according to Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke. The gunman at some point abandoned his vehicle, stole a U.S. Postal Service van and was eventually killed in a shootout with police near a Cinergy movie theater….

“Three law enforcement sources familiar with the Midland-Odessa mass shooting investigation tell NBC News that the identity of the shooting suspect is Seth Ator, 36. Law enforcement sources also said the shooter had recently been fired from his job. There is no known motive at this point in the investigation, officials said Sunday….

“An Odessa High School student was among the seven who were killed, the Ector County Independent School District confirmed Sunday. Before the vehicle came to a complete stop, the man grabbed a rifle, pointed it out of his rear window and fired toward the troopers’ patrol unit, wounding one of the troopers, said Lt. Elizabeth Carter of the Department of Public Safety.

“A senior law enforcement official briefed on the case and a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety said the shooter had a rifle that may have been a .223 AR-15 style weapon. Police confirmed Sunday that the shooter had an “AR-style” weapon….

“A witness, Shauna Sexton, told MSNBC’s Alex Witt that the shooter fired repeatedly at her car while she, her husband and their two-year-old grandson were running errands. While pulling away from a traffic light, Sexton, who was behind the wheel, heard three shots that she thought might have been a car backfiring. She glanced over her left shoulder and saw a man pointing a ‘very large gun’ at her window. ‘I didn’t really understand the situation,’ she said. ‘I thought it was just somebody that I maybe made mad.’ She said the shooter appeared ‘crazed.’ His hair was disheveled, she said, and seemed ‘amped up.’ Sexton punched her horn, she said, and when the cars in front of her moved, she floored the gas. That’s when she heard three more shots, she said. Each of them missed her car. A roughly one-mile chase followed, Sexton said, with the shooter pulling up beside her car. ‘When I saw him do that in the mirror, I sped, I floored it hard,’ she recalled. ‘I was a danger to society at that moment.’ At a traffic light, Sexton hung a quick right into a neighborhood, a place she thought he might avoid if this was road rage….” (NBC News. “Death toll in Odessa shooting rises to 7, a 17-month-old child among those injured.” 9-1-2019.)

Sep 1, CBS News: “….The suspect died in a hospital in Midland…

“At least 10 victims remained in critical condition at two local hospitals….

“A law enforcement source told CBS News the deceased shooting suspect was pulled over by police because he apparently had been driving erratically. A number of calls came into the Texas Department of public safety from people reporting his erratic driving, leading to the dispatch of officers….” (CBS News. “Mass shooting in Texas leaves at least 7 dead, 24 wounded in Odessa and Midland.” 9-1-2019.)

Sep 1, CNN: “A neighbor of the west Texas shooter says the 36-year-old came up to her house last month with a big rifle and yelled at her for leaving trash in a nearby dumpster.

“Veronica Alonzo also described how her neighbor would frequently shoot out of a structure on top of his house at night into his yard, often going to retrieve dead animals afterwards….

“Alonzo said she called police after the incident last month, but that they had never responded because the location of the property does not show up on GPS and is difficult to find.

“Alonzo said that the shooter’s home had no running water or electricity. She said she saw him sitting in his gold Toyota Camry with the heat on when the weather was cold.” (CNN/David Shortell). “Odessa shooter’s neighbor says he threatened her with a rifle.” 9-1-2019.)

Sep 1, CNN: “Dustin Fawcett told CNN he was with his 3-week-old daughter at Starbucks on Saturday, about 40-50 yards away from 42nd Street, when chaos erupted. ‘We were in the parking lot and out of nowhere we begin to hear loud noises,’ he told CNN’s Brooke Baldwin on Sunday. Fawcett said his first thought was that the sound was a truck backfiring. ‘But it was repetitive and very loud,’ he said.

“He said 42nd Street is the town’s busiest intersection. The light was red before the shooting so cars were waiting there. ‘Sitting ducks,’ Fawcett said. He then saw all the cars speed in different directions to get out of the way of gunfire. Fawcett saw one of the vehicles’ windows were shattered. ‘That was the first confirmation that this was a shooting,’ he said. Fawcett said he saw the mother getting out of the car with baby Anderson [Davis], the 17-month-old wounded in the shooting. ‘It was surreal seeing the blood coming from her mouth and hands,’ he said.” (CNN. “Witness says cars were ‘sitting ducks’ at busy intersection where shooting took place.” 9-1-2019.)

Sep 1, CNN: “With an active shooter on the move and an ever-expanding crime scene where police at times lost track of the gunman who had switched vehicles, authorities were able to stop the gunman’s shooting spree by engineering a crash outside the Cinergy movie theater, according to Midland County District Attorney Laura Nodolf. Police slammed a vehicle into the hijacked mail van the gunman was driving. The van was sent spinning into a group of cars and was then encircled by authorities in the parking lot, according to bystander video and Nodolf. ‘Law enforcement at that point in time had collectively taken efforts to surround him, and he was not going to go anywhere, and he was not going to hurt anybody else,’

“Nodolf said in an interview. Odessa and Midland police, as well as officers from the University of Texas Permian Basin, exchanged gunfire with the gunman, and were able to take him into custody after wounding him in the parking lot, Nodolf said.” (CNN (Allison Flexner). “Authorities engineered a crash with the West Texas shooter, bringing him to a standstill.” 9-1-2019.)

Sep 1: “Anderson Davis, the 17-month-old girl injured in the West Texas shooting, will be undergoing surgery Monday, according to her mother. Anderson’s mother says she has shrapnel in her chest, her front teeth have been knocked out and she has hole through her bottom lip and tongue….” (CNN. “Injured 17-month-old girl’s family issues statement to CNN.” 9-1-2019.)

Sep 2: “Odessa, Texas – More than half a dozen people died Saturday after a man opened fire, apparently at random, shooting several people in Odessa and Midland, Texas, after a trooper tried to pull him over for a routine traffic stop, according to authorities.

“Officials said seven people were killed in the shooting, including a man slain outside his parents’ home and a teenager fatally shot as she left a car dealership with her family. Officials said 22 other people were injured….

“Update 6:30 p.m. EDT Sept. 2: The City of Odessa released a list of those injured and those who died in the shooting.

“The injured [fatalities] include:

Leilah Hernandez, 15, Odessa, Texas[1]
Joe Griffith, 40, Odessa, Texas[2]
Mary Granados, 29, Odessa, Texas [US Postal Service worker.]
Edwin Peregrino, 25, Odessa, Texas[3]
Rodolfo Julio Arco, 57, Odessa, Texas[4]
Kameron Karltess Brown, 30, Brownwood, Texas[5]
Raul Garcia, 35, El Paso, Texas[6]

(Cox Media Group National Content Desk. “Texas shooting: Names of victims released by City of Odessa.” WSOC-TV, Charlotte, NC, 9-2-2019.)

Sep 2: “Odessa, Texas — The gunman who killed seven people and injured roughly 20 others during a 20-mile trail of carnage across West Texas previously failed a background check to purchase a gun, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said.

“Not only did the Odessa gunman have a criminal history…

“…he also previously failed a gun purchase background check in Texas…

“…& he didn’t go thru a background check for the gun he used in Odessa….

“Ator, who was killed in a shootout with police, has an arrest record that includes a 2001 bust on misdemeanor charges of trespassing and resisting arrest and a 2014 charge of public intoxication. The disposition of those cases was not immediately clear.

“Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said Ator was fired Saturday from Journey Oilfield Services. FBI special agent Christopher Combs told reporters Ator went to work that day ‘in trouble.’ Officials said they do not believe Ator’s firing was the direct cause of the shooting spree, as he had been on a ‘long spiral down,’ Combs said. The company called 911 after firing Ator, but he was gone by the time police arrived.

“Officials said Ator also called authorities, making “rambling statements” about the ‘atrocities he felt he had gone through’ about 15 minutes before being stopped by state troopers when he opened fire.

“The FBI said they were executing a federal search warrant at a home linked to Ator. Agents were later seen searching Ator’s house, located about 20 minutes west of Odessa. The home, set half a mile back from the main road, more closely resembles a shack, with what appears to be a makeshift tower placed on top. The area is surrounded by oil wells that easily outnumber the nearby trailers….

“Few other details have emerged about Ator’s life. Relatives could not be reached for comment and it appeared the suspect had virtually no online footprint. Public records indicated he was originally from the small town of Lorena, where he graduated from high school in 2001. He also took classes at McLennan Community College in Waco the fall of 2000, a school spokesperson told The Daily Beast….

“Odessa officials said Ator used an assault rifle-type weapon, but said how the gun was obtained is still under investigation….” (Daily Beast. “Seth Ator, Odessa Gunman, Didn’t Pass Gun Background Check: Texas Governor.” 9-2-2019.)

Sep 3, AP: “Odessa, Texas — The gunman in a West Texas rampage that left seven dead obtained his AR-style rifle through a private sale, allowing him to evade a federal background check that blocked him from getting a gun in 2014 due to a ‘mental health issue,’ a law enforcement official told the Associated Press….The person did not say when and where the private sale took place….

“Ator had tried purchasing a firearm in January 2014 but was denied, the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement Tuesday. The agency said it was precluded by law from disclosing why, but the law enforcement official told the AP it was due to a ‘mental health issue.’

“Private sales, which some estimates suggest account for 25 to 40 percent of all gun sales, are not subject to a federal background check in the United States. If the person selling the firearm knows the buyer cannot legally purchase or possess a firearm, they would be violating the law. But they are not required to find out if the person can possess a firearm and are not required to conduct a background check.

“The so-called ‘gun show’ loophole means that Americans can buy a gun from an individual, get one bequeathed from a relative, obtain one through an online marketplace as well as from some dealers at gun shows – all without needing to go through a federal background check.

“FBI special agent Christopher Combs said Ator ‘was on a long spiral of going down’ and had been fired from his oil services job the morning of the shooting, and that he called 911 both before and after the rampage began. Online court records show Ator was arrested in 2001 for a misdemeanor offense that would not have prevented him from legally purchasing firearms in Texas.

“Combs said Monday that Ator called the agency’s tip line as well as local police dispatch on Saturday after being fired from Journey Oilfield Services, making ‘rambling statements about some of the atrocities that he felt that he had gone through.’ Fifteen minutes after the call to the FBI, Combs said, a Texas state trooper unaware of the calls to authorities tried pulling over Ator for failing to signal a lane change.

“Ator fired on the trooper and fled, setting in motion a rampage that didn’t end until the gunman was killed at 4:17 p.m., according to Odessa police spokesman Steve LeSueur. That was one hour and four minutes after DPS said the trooper pulled over Ator.

“In 2018, more than 26 million background checks were conducted. Of those, fewer than 100,000 were denied with the vast majority of those rejected because the person was found to have a criminal past that made them ineligible. Far fewer just over 6,000 were because the person had been involuntarily committed.

“Gun-rights advocates have pushed back against efforts to include private sales, contending it would risk unwittingly turning someone into a felon for a private transaction with a friend or relative. They also argue that criminals will still get their hands on a firearm, regardless of what laws are on the books. ‘In the guise of basically regulating private sales it creates a mechanism that is so labyrinthian that basically gun owners won’t be able to comply with it,’ Michael Hammond, the legislative counsel for Gun Owners of America, told the Associated Press.

“Gun-control advocates argue that the lack of a background check is making it too easy for the wrong people to skirt the background check system and get a gun. For example, on one well-known internet site for firearms sales, there were classified listings in recent days for about 1,700 long guns in Texas alone.

“Combs said Ator ‘showed up to work enraged’ but did not point to any specific source of his anger. Ator’s home on the outskirts of Odessa was a corrugated metal shack along a dirt road surrounded by trailers, mobile homes and oil pump jacks. Combs described it as a ‘strange residence’ that reflected ‘what his mental state was going into this.’

“Ator fired at random as he drove in the area of Odessa and Midland, cities more than 300 miles west of Dallas. Police used a marked SUV to ram the mail truck outside the Cinergy Movie Theater in Odessa, disabling the vehicle. The gunman then fired at police, wounding two officers before he was killed.

“The number of mass killings so far this year has already eclipsed the total for all of last year. A teenager suspected of killing five family members in Alabama brought the total to 26 mass killings in 2019, claiming the lives of 147 people, compared with 25 mass killings and 142 deaths in 2018, according to a database by the Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University. The database tracks homicides where four or more people are killed, not including the offender.” (Associated Press. “Texas shooter got gun at private sale; denied in 2014 check.” Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA, 9-3-2019.)

Sep 4: “(CNN) — The West Texas man who killed seven people and wounded 25 in a shooting rampage failed a background check during an attempted firearm purchase in 2014 because he had earlier been adjudicated “a mental defective” and temporarily committed to an institution, three law enforcement sources told CNN on Wednesday. Seth Ator, 36, had been committed to an unidentified institution in McLennan County in 2006 because he was deemed a danger to himself and/or others, according to one source….

“Still, Ator managed to buy the firearm used in Saturday’s mass shooting within the last couple of years, according to a third source. Police said Ator used an AR-15-style rifle in the killing spree in and around Odessa.

“‘A mental defective’ is a term used in federal law to describe one category of people prohibited from purchasing or owning a firearm….

“In July 2001, Ator was charged with criminal mischief after breaking a window at the DePaul Center, a psychiatric and drug abuse facility in McLennan County, according to Tom Needham, the county’s executive assistant district attorney. The DePaul Center requested that the charge not be prosecuted, the prosecutor said. ‘He paid for the window and apparently they asked that it be dropped,,’ said Needham….

“Needham said Ator also was charged with criminal trespass and evading arrest in August 2001. He said Ator received 24 months deferred adjudication probation, drug and alcohol testing as well mandatory attendance at Narcotics Anonymous….

“In June 2012, Ator was arrested and charged him with public intoxication after he got in a fight, said Larry Adams, assistant chief of police for the city of Woodway, Texas. Adams said witnesses told police Ator had been ‘drinking all night’ and that one person head-butted him, leaving cuts on his face and nose. The charge is a Class C misdemeanor, which Adams said may not show up in court record searches.

“The ATF, the FBI and the Texas Department of Public Safety are ‘aggressively following up on’ the source that supplied the firearm that Ator used in the rampage, according to the ATF….”

(CNN. “West Texas shooter failed background check after being adjudicated ‘a mental defective,’ sources say.” 9-4-2019.)

Sep 4: “Lubbock, Texas (CBSDFW.com) — CBS 11 has confirmed a raid took place in Lubbock on Wednesday on the home of the person suspected of illegally building and selling the AR-style rifle to the Midland-Odessa shooter. The identity of the suspect hasn’t been disclosed by authorities because this is an ongoing investigation. Charges are pending based on the outcome of the investigation into this transaction. ATF is conducting the operation and investigation in the 3400 block of Mesa Road in North Lubbock….” (CBS, Dallas/Fort Worth. “Authorities Raid Lubbock Home of Person Believed to Have Built, Sold Rifle to Midland-Odessa Shooter.” 9-4-2019.)

Sep 5, Governor Abbott Executive Orders: “WHEREAS, on August 3, 2019, a gunman killed twenty-two people in El Paso and injured dozens more in a despicable act of domestic terrorism; and

WHEREAS, the mother of the El Paso gunman had previously expressed concern to police about her son and the weapon with which he would later commit his cowardly attack; and

WHEREAS, on August 31, 2019, another gunman heinously killed seven people in Odessa and injured dozens more; and

WHEREAS, the Odessa gunman had called both the police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation prior to his shooting spree, had previously failed a background check, and was recently reported to law enforcement for confronting a neighbor while brandishing a semiautomatic rifle; and

WHEREAS, these tragic events come in the wake of other mass shootings in Texas, including one in which a gunman in Santa Fe opened fire in his high school with a shotgun and a revolver, another in which a gunman murdered worshippers at their church in Sutherland Springs, and another in which a gunman fatally ambushed police officers in Dallas; and

WHEREAS, mental instability, racial hatred, extremist ideology, a desire to sow domestic terror, and other factors have contributed to these horrific mass shootings in varying degrees; and

WHEREAS, legislative action has been and will be taken to safeguard against these dangers; and

WHEREAS, in addition to further legislative action, executive action can be taken immediately to help prevent more mass shootings and keep Texans safe; and

WHEREAS, revised and readily available standards for gathering and processing information about potential criminal or terrorist acts can lead to swifter action by law enforcement to prevent such acts, including mass shootings;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GREG ABBOTT, Governor of the State of Texas, by virtue of the power and authority vested in me by the Constitution and Statutes of the State of Texas, do hereby order the following:

Order No. 1 Within thirty days of this order, the Texas Department of Public Safety shall develop standardized intake questions that can be used by all Texas law-enforcement agencies to better identify whether a person calling the agency has information that should be reported to the Texas Suspicious Activity Reporting Network.

Order No. 2 Within thirty days of this order, the Department of Public Safety shall develop clear guidance, based on the appropriate legal standard, for when and how Texas law-enforcement agencies should submit Suspicious Activity Reports.

Order No. 3 Within sixty days of this order, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement shall make training available to educate all law-enforcement officers regarding the standards that will be developed pursuant to Order No. 1 and Order No. 2.

Order No. 4 The Department of Public Safety shall create and conduct an initiative to raise public awareness and understanding of how Suspicious Activity Reports are used by law-enforcement agencies to identify potential mass shooters or terroristic threats, so that the general public and friends, family members, coworkers, neighbors, and classmates will be more likely to report information about potential gunmen.

Order No. 5 The Department of Public Safety shall work with the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board on ways to better inform schools, students, staff, and families about the importance of Suspicious Activity Reports and how to initiate that process.

Order No. 6 The Department of Public Safety shall work with local law enforcement, mental-health professionals, school districts, and others to create multidisciplinary threat assessment teams for each of its regions, and when appropriate shall coordinate with federal partners.

Order No. 7 The Department of Public Safety, as well as the Office of the Governor, shall use all available resources to increase staff at all fusion centers in Texas for the purpose of better collecting and responding to Suspicious Activity Reports, and better monitoring and analyzing social media and other online forums, for potential threats.

Order No. 8 Beginning January 1, 2020, all future grant awards from the Office of the Governor to counties shall require a commitment that the county will report at least 90 percent of convictions within seven business days to the Criminal Justice Information System at the Department of Public Safety. By January 1, 2021, such reporting must take place within five business days.

“This executive order supersedes all previous orders on this matter that are in conflict or inconsistent with its terms, and this order shall remain in effect and in full force until modified, amended, rescinded, or superseded by me or by a succeeding governor.

“Given under my hand this the 5th day of September, 2019.

GREG ABBOTT
Governor

(Office of the Texas Governor. “Governor Greg Abbott Issues Eight Executive Orders in Response to El Paso and Odessa Shootings.” 9-5-2019.)

Sep 5: “Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued eight executive orders Thursday [Sep 5] that aim to stop potential mass shooters by strengthening reporting techniques, although he conceded in a release that ‘legislative action’ is still needed….The new orders are aimed at closing what Abbott called the “information gap” when there is suspicion of a mass shooter.

“Abbott has been fending off calls for gun control by Democrats in the Texas House in the wake of the shootings. On Wednesday, 63 of the 66 Texas House Democrats signed a letter calling for a special legislative session. The proposals include “closing the background check loopholes” and “banning the sale of high-capacity magazines,” according to CBS Austin.

“The Legislature does not reconvene until 2021,[7] but Abbott tweeted Wednesday that he will announce “legislative considerations next week.”

Texas’ Republican-controlled Legislature earlier this year approved a series of loosened gun laws that went into effect one day after the Midland-Odessa shooting, which left seven people dead and injured dozens more.

“The laws that took effect Sunday will:

Allow licensed handgun owners to carry weapons in places of worship, including churches and synagogues.
Ban landlords and homeowners from prohibiting tenants to own, carry and transport guns on their property.
Prevent school districts from prohibiting licensed gun owners — including school employees — from storing guns and ammunition in school parking lots as long as it is not in plain view.
Allow foster homes to store firearms.
Prevent citizens for being charged for carrying a handgun without a license while evacuating or returning to a declared disaster zone.
Allow disaster shelters to take in evacuees who have guns.
Allow schools to have more armed marshals on campus.
Defend licensed gun owners who unknowingly enter designated gun-free zones as long as they leave after being told about the policy.”

(CBS News, Caroline Linton. “Texas governor issues 8 executive orders after double mass shootings in August.” 9-5-2019.)

Sources

Associated Press. “Texas mass shooting: Mail carrier, high school student among the dead.” Los Angeles Times, 9-2-2019. Accessed 9-2-2019 at: https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-09-01/texas-mass-shootings-victims-identified

Associated Press. “Texas shooter got gun at private sale; denied in 2014 check.” Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA, 9-3-2019. Accessed 9-3-2019 at: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2019/sep/03/texas-shooter-got-gun-at-private-sale-denied-in-20/

CBS, Dallas/Fort Worth. “Authorities Raid Lubbock Home of Person Believed to Have Built, Sold Rifle to Midland-Odessa Shooter.” 9-4-2019. Accessed 9-5-2019 at: https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2019/09/04/authorities-raid-lubbock-home-built-sold-rifle-midland-odessa-shooter/

CBS News. “Mass shooting in Texas leaves at least 7 dead, 24 wounded in Odessa and Midland.” 9-1-2019. Accessed 9-1-2019 at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shooting-in-texas-odessa-midland-at-least-6-dead-3-police-injured-mass-shooting-latest-news-2019-09-01/

CBS News, Caroline Linton. “Texas governor issues 8 executive orders after double mass shootings in August.” 9-5-2019. Accessed 9-6-2019 at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-gun-laws-governor-greg-abbott-issues-8-executive-orders-after-el-paso-odessa-midland-shootings/

CNN (Fernando Alfonso III and Meg Wagner). “7 killed in West Texas shooting.” 9-1-2019 at: Accessed 9-1-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/west-texas-shooting-odessa-midland/index.html

CNN (Amanda Jackson, Jason Morris and Darran Simon). “A US mail carrier and an Army vet were among those killed in the West Texas shooting.” 9-2-2019. Accessed 9-2-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/01/us/west-texas-mass-shooting-victims/index.html

CNN (Allison Flexner). “Authorities engineered a crash with the West Texas shooter, bringing him to a standstill.” 9-1-2019. Accessed 9-1-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/west-texas-shooting-odessa-midland/index.html

CNN (Faith Karimi and Ed Lavandera). “Gunman in West Texas shooting identified as Seth Ator.” 9-1-2019. Accessed 9-1-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/01/us/odessa-texas-shooting-sunday/index.html

CNN (David Shortell). “Odessa shooter’s neighbor says he threatened her with a rifle.” 9-1-2019. Accessed 9-1-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/west-texas-shooting-odessa-midland/index.html

CNN. “Witness says cars were ‘sitting ducks’ at busy intersection where shooting took place.” 9-1-2019. Accessed 9-1-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/west-texas-shooting-odessa-midland/index.html

CNN (Scott Glover, Evan Perez, Curt Divine, Ray Sanchez). “West Texas shooter failed background check after being adjudicated ‘a mental defective,’ sources say.” 9-4-2019. Accessed 9-4-2019 at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/04/us/west-texas-odessa-shooter/

Cox Media Group National Content Desk. “Texas shooting: Names of victims released by City of Odessa.” WSOC-TV, Charlotte, NC, 9-2-2019. Accessed 9-2-2019 at: https://www.wsoctv.com/news/trending-now/active-shooter-reported-in-texas/981324449

Daily Beast (Audrey McNamara, Pervaiz Shallwani, Justin Hamel, Julia Arciga). “Seth Ator, Odessa Gunman, Didn’t Pass Gun Background Check: Texas Governor.” 9-2-2019. Accessed 9-2-2019 at: https://www.thedailybeast.com/odessa-texas-shooting-sources-identify-gunman-as-seth-ator

KTSM.com, El Paso (Andra Litton). “Odessa shooting victims include El Pasoan, mail carrier, high school student.” 9-2-2019. Accessed 9-2-2019 at: https://www.ktsm.com/news/odessa-shooting-victims-names-emerge-as-gofundme-accounts-are-established/

NBC News (Doha Madani, Andrew Blankstein and Tim Stelloh). “Death toll in Odessa shooting rises to 7, a 17-month-old child among those injured.” 9-1-2019. Accessed 9-1-2019 at: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/death-toll-odessa-shooting-rises-7-17-month-old-child-n1048711

New York Post/Tamar Lapin. “Father of two killed in front of wife and kids in Texas mass shooting.” 9-1-2019. Accessed 9-2-2019 at: https://nypost.com/2019/09/01/father-of-two-killed-in-front-of-wife-and-kids-in-texas-mass-shooting/

New York Post/Anabel Sosa and Tamar Lapin). “Texas mass shooting victim Leilah Hernandez mourned by best friends.” 9-1-2019. Accessed 9-2-2019 at: https://nypost.com/2019/09/01/texas-mass-shooting-victim-leilah-hernandez-mourned-by-best-friends/

Office of the Texas Governor. “Governor Greg Abbott Issues Eight Executive Orders in Response to El Paso and Odessa Shootings.” 9-5-2019. Accessed 9-6-2019 at: https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-greg-abbott-issues-eight-executive-orders-in-response-to-el-paso-and-odessa-shootings

[1] “…Leilah and her 18-year-old brother, Nathan Hernandez, were picking up a truck he’d just bought from a dealership in the Odessa-Midland area when a gunman began shooting from a car.” (New York Post/Anabel Sosa and Tamar Lapin). “Texas mass shooting victim Leilah Hernandez mourned by best friends.” 9-1-2019.)

[2] “A dad of two was identified on Sunday [Sep 1] as one of the Texas mass shooting victims by his sister — who said he was killed in front of his wife an children as the family sat at a traffic light. Former math teacher Joseph Griffith, 40, was one of the seven people killed…” (New York Post/Tamar Lapin. “Father of two killed in front of wife and kids in Texas mass shooting.” 9-1-2019.)

[3] “Peregrino, 25, ran into the yard of his parents’ Odessa home to investigate after hearing gunshots…The gunman speeding by the home opened fire, killing him.” (Associated Press. “Texas mass shooting: Mail carrier, high school student among the dead.” Los Angeles Times, 9-2-2019.)

[4] Shot and killed while driving home from work. (CNN. “A US mail carrier and an Army vet were among those killed in the West Texas shooting.” 9-2-2019.)

[5] Army veteran who served in Afghanistan and had been working for Standard Safety & Supply for over a year. (CNN. “A US mail carrier and an Army vet were among those killed in the West Texas shooting.” 9-2-2019.)

[6] “Garcia was among the truck drivers shot along I-20 as the shooter traveled toward Odessa from the initial traffic stop in Midland. He leaves behind four children.” (KTSM.com, El Paso. “Odessa shooting victims include El Pasoan, mail carrier, high school student.” 9-2-2019.)

[7] “The Legislature of the State of Texas, operating under the biennial system, convenes its regular sessions at noon on the second Tuesday in January of odd-numbered years.” (Texas House of Representatives. “Frequently Asked Questions.”