Texas Cops Corner and Kill White Gunman in a Parking Lot After He Shot Dead Five and Injured 21 – Including a 17-month-old Girl – While Firing ‘Indiscriminately’ From a Hijacked Mail Truck During High-speed Rampage Sparked by a Traffic Stop
Police surrounded the suspect in a vehicle and killed him in a shootout behind the Cinergy theater in Odessa
Witness video has revealed the desperate police shootout that ended a mass shooting rampage in the neighboring cities of Midland and Odessa, Texas.
The shooter, identified only as a white male in his mid 30s armed with a rifle, was shot and killed by police in the parking lot of the Cinergy movie theater in Odessa on Saturday.
At least five people were killed and 21 people were injured in the shooting rampage. Three law enforcement officers were among the injured, Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said.
The incident began with an attempted traffic stop for failure to signal by a Texas Depart of Public Safety officer on Saturday at about 3.25pm CT.
The fleeing suspect shot the officer, hijacked a US Postal Service mail van and fired at random motorists along Interstate 20 and all over the city of Odessa before being taken down at the theater, police said.
Shocking witness video from the theater shows police confronting the suspect outside of the theater and engaging in a shootout.
Officials said that the incident began as a traffic stop on I-20 between Midland and Odessa for failing to signal on a left turn.
The driver, who was alone in a gold pickup truck, slowed but did not stop, and fired a rifle through the rear window of the truck, striking one of the two officers.
The shooter fled westbound on the interstate, and shooting at a civilian at east Loop 338 and I-20. The suspect proceeded on a shooting spree in the City of Odessa and stole a mail carrier truck, police said.
Police cornered the shooter at the Cinergy on Highway 191. At least two other law enforcement officers were among those struck by gunfire before the shooter was killed.
Medical Center Hospital in Odessa admitted 13 victims related to the shooting, said Russel Tippin, CEO Medical Center Health System, at a press conference.
Of those 13, one is deceased, seven are in critical condition, two are in serious condition, two have been treated and released, and one is a child under the age of two who has been transferred to a pediatric facility.
Tippin said that the hospital has a staging area for families of the victims, and remains on lockdown for the security of patients and staff.
‘Right now the hospital is stable, its secure,’ he said.
‘Everyone hearing the sound of my voice, you need to grab on to your loved ones and hold them tight and pray for this town and the victims,’ Tippin said.
One of the injured officers was identified as Midland Police Officer Zack Owens.
‘Officer Owens was shot multiple times in the arm and hand. As well as suffering from glass shards in his eye which is his most serious injury,’ a family member wrote in a GoFundMecampaign for his medical expenses.
Another injured victims was identified as 17-month-old Anderson Davis, who was struck by shrapnel in her face and chest.
Young Anderson was airlifted to Lubbock and is expected to survive, her mother said in a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for medical expenses.
‘Her vitals are good. She is being flown to Lubbock while we drive. Not getting to fly with her is beyond painful,’ the mother wrote.
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