Death toll in Midland-Odessa mass shooting climbs to eight, including the shooter
September 1, 2019 in News by RBN Staff
In this image taken from a social media video, people were evacuated from an Odessa theater after a mass shooting Saturday. Rick Lobo via REUTERS
Source: www.texastribune.org
BY ACACIA CORONADO AND ALEX SAMUELS
Officials say the shooting began with a traffic stop in which the gunman shot a state trooper. A U.S. postal worker whose vehicle was hijacked has been confirmed as one of the victims.
The death toll in Saturday’s mass shooting in Midland and Odessa climbed to eight Sunday morning, including the alleged shooter, according to CBS 7 in Midland.
Nineteen others were injured before the shooter was shot and killed at Cinergy Cinemas in Odessa, police said.
The station identified one of the victims as postal worker Mary Granados, whose postal van was hijacked by the shooter during the rampage. Ector County ISD, located in Odessa, tweeted late Saturday that one of their students died in the shooting. The district didn’t name the student.
“We are heartbroken and outraged by the violence that struck our community and our school district today,” the tweet read. “We are learning that we have lost friends, family members, as well as one of our students. Our lives have been changed forever.”
According to officials, the shooting started just after 3 p.m. in Midland during a traffic stop.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said that two state troopers pulled over a lone male driver, who then grabbed a rifle and pointed it out the window, opened fire and wounded an officer. He then began shooting at civilians and police, wounding two police officers — one from Odessa and one from Midland — who exchanged gunfire with the shooter at the movie theater.
The trooper is in serious but stable condition, and the two police officers are in stable condition at a local hospital, according to DPS. According to CBS 7, the Midland police officer has been identified as Zach Owens.
The shooter, a white male in his mid-30s whose name has not been released, eventually ditched his car, hijacked the Postal Service vehicle and continued to open fire, Odessa police Chief Michael Gerke said.
