Police say that an active shooter shot 21 people, killing at least 5, in a series of random shootings that started with a traffic stop. You can watch a live stream later in this article. “It has been confirmed that the active shooter was shot and killed at the Cinergy in Odessa. There is no active shooter at this time. All agencies are investigating reports of possible suspects,” Midland police wrote.
The chaotic situation broke out on the afternoon of August 31, 2019, and various citizens reported that people were randomly shot on the freeway in vehicles. The mayor told The New York Times that the suspect was shooting “at random.” Police had previously said they thought there might be two active shooters, but now it appears there was only one, although they did say it was still possible there was a second shooter after reports came in indicating so.
Police said in a news conference that the incident started with a traffic stop. The suspect shot the officer, and then drove and shot another person. There were then other scenes with multiple victims. Authorities said it was a fluid situation. The suspect was then “contacted by law enforcement” and was killed in an exchange of gunfire. “We have law enforcement injured.” Three officers were struck. Police said there were at least 21 shootings victims and at least five deceased. The suspect is a white male in his mid 30s.
People are urged to avoid I-20 in Odessa, Midland and Big Spring.
Here’s a livestream.
Here are other livestream videos:
And:
“Active Shooter! Please Share!
A subject (possibly 2) is currently driving around Odessa shooting at random people. At this time there are multiple gunshot victims. The suspect just hijacked a U.S. mail carrier truck and was last seen in the area of 38th and Walnut. Everyone is encouraged to get off the road and use extreme caution! All law enforcement is currently searching for the suspect and more information will be released as soon as it becomes available,” Odessa Police wrote on their Facebook page.
Here’s what you need to know:
A Suspect Was Found Outside Cinergy, Reports Say
Reporters went live from part of the scene, which was chaotic and appeared widespread. That reporter said there was a mail van that was “down” and that a shooter might have been driving it. The journalist was reporting from the scene of Cinergy. CBS is reporting that one suspect was taken into custody at Cinergy. That report was before police indicated the shooter was dead.
A woman wrote on the police comment thread: “My husband works there and he was driving down the interstate where there are cars that are all shot up from the shooter just driving down the interstate shooting random cars. So scary!!”
Initial reports indicated that a Home Depot might have somehow been involved but Home Depot later told Heavy: “there was not a shooting in our store in Odessa (or Midland).”
“There are reports of an active shooter at the Home Depot in Odessa. For the safety of the public and law enforcement please stay away from the area and stay in your homes. We will update will more information as soon as possible,” Midland, Texas police wrote on Facebook early on, but as noted Home Depot says nothing occurred there. Police told Heavy there were multiple injuries.
MY BOSS JUST GOT SHOT AT ON TANGLEWOOD AND MAPLE PLEASE GUYS STAY OFF THE ROADS AT CENTRAL ODESSA
BE SAFE
This man posted a live video on Facebook in which he claimed that people were shot in trucks on the side of the road. That information had not been confirmed. “I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s chaos,” he said. “It’s not safe.” He said he’d seen dozens of officers. “There’s truck people, people laid out…”
Midland police later said there are two shooters but sometimes in active shooter situations reports of multiple shooters end up being false. “Update * 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 Jeep. Please stay away from these areas and stay indoors,” wrote police.
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin also wrote about the situation on Twitter. “Falcons: law enforcement in Midland and Odessa are working to locate and contain a shooter. Please stay in your dorm or office and do not open your doors. There were initial reports that the suspect was in east odessa. We will post here as soon as the situation is under control,” the Twitter page for UT wrote.
And: “Lock DownLock down in place. Officers are looking for suspect in shooting in the are of UTPB Campus. LOCK DOWN NOW.”
This post is being updated as more information is learned about the active shooter situation.