FBI: Texas shooter 'on long spiral down.' Here’s what we know
BY Adrianna Rodriguez and BrieAnna J. Frank
USA Today
September 2, 2019
ODESSA, Texas – The gunman who killed seven people and left at least 25 others injured on Saturday was fired from his job that morning and "on a long spiral down."
Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said at Monday news conference Seth Aaron Ator, 36, and his employer at Journey Oilfield Services both called 911 Saturday to complain about the other over the firing. The shooter made a "rambling statement," but no threats were made.
“Can’t speak to his motives or why he called,” Gerke said, noting such calls to police are routine.
Ator left the business before officers arrived and then called the FBI's tipline. In that call he also made no threats of violence, Gerke said.
The Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who pulled him over for a traffic stop was unaware of the morning incidents that preceded the shooting spree.
FBI Special Agent Christopher Combs said the shooter's home was "a very strange residence" that reflected his mental state.
“He was on a long spiral of going down," Combs said, after a search of the property west of Odessa. "He didn’t wake up Saturday morning and go into his company and then it happened. He went to that company in trouble and had probably been in trouble for a while.”
Gerke said it was unknown how he came to have the firearm. Federal and state agencies were “aggressively investigating” how he acquired it.
Online court records show he was arrested in 2001 for a misdemeanor offense that would not have prevented him from legally purchasing firearms in Texas, although authorities have not said where he got the "AR style" weapon he used.
The shooting began with the routine traffic stop for failing to signal. The gunman opened fire on a pair of troopers through the rear-view window, wounding one. He then took off in a gold-colored car, shooting randomly for more than 10 miles, firing at motorists and pedestrians before hijacking a U.S. Postal Service truck.
The shooter was killed after being chased by officers from neighboring cities Midland and Odessa. He was later identified in a Facebook post by the Odessa Police Department.
Police say investigators were still searching for motives for the shooting.
The West Texas community is banding together to show solidarity and support for the victims and their families. Hundreds of people gathered at a local university in the Permian Basin region Sunday evening for a prayer vigil.
Madison Tate, spokeswoman for the Odessa Regional Medical Center, which initially received six shooting victims, said Monday afternoon that two people remain hospitalized “and are showing signs of improvement.” Four were discharged Saturday.
One victim remains in critical condition, Tate said, but is stable and showing signs of improvement. Tate said the other victim has improved and is no longer in intensive care.
Daniel Munoz, 28, who was injured, recalled the harrowing details of coming into the path of the gunman, who was later killed by officers. Munoz was in his car on the way to meet a friend for a drink, when he yielded to a car coming off Interstate 20. He noticed what he feared to be a barrel of a rifle in the hands of the driver.
"This is my street instincts: When a car is approaching you and you see a gun of any type, just get down," Munoz, who moved from San Diego about a year ago to work in oil country, told the Associated Press. "Luckily I got down. ... Sure enough, I hear the shots go off. He let off at least three shots on me."
He's not exactly sure, but it appeared one shot hit the engine, another struck the driver's side window and a third a rear window. Some shattered glass punctured his left shoulder, causing him to bleed and go to a nearby hospital. He said he's physically OK but bewildered by the experience.
"I'm just trying to turn the corner and I got shot — I'm getting shot at?" Munoz said. "What's the world coming to? For real?"
Seventeen-month-old Anderson Davis had shrapnel in her right chest and injuries to her face. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said her mother, Kelby Davis, texted: "Her mouth is pretty bad, but will heal and can be fixed. Thankfully it doesn't seem like her jaw was hit. Just lips, teeth and tongue. ... We are thanking God for healing her and appreciate continued prayers."
Abbott said the girl's mother also texted: "Toddlers are funny because they can get shot but still want to run around and play."
A joint public statement issued by the Davis family offered thanks to emergency responders, hospital staff and "strangers who offered to help us on the street."
Eric Finley, spokesman for UMC Health System in Lubbock, said in an email that the toddler was released from hospital Sunday.
1 comment:
Obviously it should be illegal to fire mentally ill people. That would fix the problem.
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