The Midland Police Department released a statement through its Facebook page Saturday afternoon regarding the West Texas shootings.
“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,” MPD wrote. Cinergy is an entertainment district and movie theater.
Dozens of people have been injured and two have reportedly been killed during the West Texas shootings. The Midland Police Department said at 5 p.m. they believed there were multiple shooters in two separate vehicles between Midland and Odessa, and one suspected shooter was shot and killed.
“They are shooting at random,” Midland Mayor Jerry Morales Morales told The Times. “We have two fatalities and up to 20 injuries.”
Morales said that two, or perhaps three, gunmen took aim at motorists traveling on Interstate 20 and Highway 191 — a common connector between the two cities. Though a suspect has been shot and killed and police said there is no longer an active shooter situation, police are still looking at more potential suspects.
Morales also told The Times that the man in custody had been wounded, but he did not say if it was a gunshot or some other injury. Morales also did not know if the suspect in custody was alive or dead.
Earlier, the Midland Police Department indicated two locations where they believed the shooters to be.
“One suspect is believed to be at the Cinergy in Midland and the other is believed to be driving on Loop 250 in Midland,” MPD tweeted Saturday. “Please stay away from these areas and stay indoors.”
Midland police also told CBS 7 in Odessa earlier that a suspect had been taken into custody.
Police said the two vehicles they were looking for are:
Gold/White small Toyota truckUS Post Office van
Although initial reports indicated there was an active shooter at the Home Depot in Odessa, a Home Depot corporate communications member told Newsweek there was no shooting at any of their stores in Midland or Odessa.
The Odessa Police Department said, “A subject (possibly two) 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.”
CBS 7 in Odessa reported that at least 20 people were injured inside the Odessa hardware store. The Austin American-Statesman reported that a state trooper was among those injured.
The reported shootings come 28 days after the El Paso shooting at a Walmart in which 22 people were killed. El Paso is four hours west of Odessa and Midland.
The Odessa Police Department will hold a press conference at 5:30 p.m. We will provide more details as they emerge in this developing situation.
