Police identify gunman from Texas shootings

Police are still searching for a motive.

Flowers are seen at the site of a mass shooting where 20 people lost their lives at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, U.S. August 4, 2019 (photo credit: REUTERS/JOSE LUIS GONZALEZ)
Flowers are seen at the site of a mass shooting where 20 people lost their lives at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, U.S. August 4, 2019
(photo credit: REUTERS/JOSE LUIS GONZALEZ)
Texas police identified the gunman who allegedly killed seven people and injured at least 22 others in Odessa, Texas, as Seth Ator, American media sources reported on Sunday.
According to reports, Ator was fired from his trucking job hours before the shooting. After failing to use his signal, the shooter was pulled over by Texas troopers in Midland on Saturday afternoon. Ator then shot at the troopers with what they described as an AR-type weapon and sped away in his gold Honda, spraying bullets at residents and drivers.
According to the report, Ator then hijacked a postal truck, continuing to shoot at people while heading toward Odessa, Texas, which was 20 miles away. Ator was confronted by police in an Odessa movie theater and was killed in a shootout.
According to hospital and police officials, Ator injured a 17-month-old girl and three law enforcement officers. Odessa Police chief Michael Gerke stated that those killed by Ator were aged 15-57. Police are still searching for a motive.
Less than a month ago, another mass shooting that claimed the lives of 22 people took place in El Paso, Texas – 285 miles west of Odessa.
FBI special agent in charge Christopher Combs 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 [seeing] an active shooter in this country," CNN reported.