The Latest on a shooting in West Texas (all times local):
12:15 p.m.
The medical director of an emergency care center says he witnessed part of a shooting rampage in West Texas that left seven people dead before police killed the gunman.
Dr. Nathaniel Ott says he heard shots around 3 p.m. Saturday while at work in Odessa. He rushed outside to find a woman in the driver’s seat of an SUV bleeding from a gunshot wound in the arm. Ott says paramedic put a tourniquet on the woman’s arm and he ran back inside to get a bag of fluids and an IV.
They then loaded the woman into a police cruiser to be driven to a nearby trauma center. He doesn’t know how she’s doing now.
Ott says that as they were working, the shooter drove back by the intersection, followed by police. He says the gunman drove within 30 feet of him. He says of the shooter: “He was just everywhere.”
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11:30 a.m.
A number of looser gun restrictions are taking effect in Texas as authorities investigate why a man fled a traffic stop and went on a shooting rampage, leaving at least seven people dead. Police eventually killed the shooter.
New laws easing firearm restrictions in Texas churches and increasing the number of armed teaches took effect Sunday. The measures were signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott this year following a legislative session that was applauded by the National Rifle Association.
Texas expanded gun rights following a 2017 mass shooting at a church that left more than two dozen dead and a 2018 mass shooting at high school that left 10 dead.
Abbott was scheduled to visit Odessa on Sunday. He met twice with lawmakers this past week in wake of a mass shooting Aug. 3 in the Texas border city of El Paso that left 22 dead. Abbott has remained noncommittal about new gun laws.
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10:40 a.m.
President Donald Trump is praising law enforcement in West Texas after police say at least seven people were killed when a gunman randomly opened fire on people after fleeing a traffic stop. Police eventually killed the shooter.
Trump on Sunday called the shooting rampage “A very tough and sad situation!” in a tweet. It came just weeks after another Texas mass shooting at Walmart in El Paso that left 22 people dead.
The shootings have reignited a debate in the U.S. over gun control. Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania told ABC’s “This Week” that Trump is “very interested in doing something meaningful” but said he couldn’t guarantee an outcome.
Democratic presidential contenders are intensifying their criticism of Trump and Republicans. Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke condemned expressions of “thoughts and prayers” as insufficient following Saturday’s shooting in his home state.
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9:15 a.m.
Odessa police say the death toll in a West Texas shooting rampage is now seven after a man stopped by state troopers opened fire and fled, shooting people at random. Police later shot the gunman.
Odessa police spokesman Steve LeSueur said Sunday that at least one person remains in “life-threatening” condition. Authorities have said the gunman shot more than 20 people before being killed by officers outside a movie theater.
Police say the shooter was a white man in his 30s but have not released a name or possible motive.
The shooter hijacked a mail carrier truck on Saturday afternoon and fired at random as he drove in the area of Odessa and Midland.
Odessa police had scheduled a news conference for noon.
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9 a.m.
The acting U.S. homeland security secretary calls a mass shooting in West Texas that left at least five people dead “extraordinarily concerning” and describes it and other recent mass shootings as a “homeland security threat.”
Kevin McAleenan told ABC’s “This Week” that Homeland Security Department officials will be “following up aggressively” on the West Teas shooting but didn’t want to jump to any conclusions about the causes or motive.
It began with Texas state troopers pulling over a driver for failing to signal a left turn. Police say the driver went on a more than 10-mile shooting rampage Saturday afternoon, hijacking a mail carrier truck and firing at random as he drove in the area of Odessa and Midland. He shot more than 20 people before being killed by officers outside a movie theater.
When asked if recent mass shootings should be considered a homeland security threat, McAleenan said: “They are absolutely a homeland security threat.”
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1 a.m.
At least five people are dead in West Texas after a man stopped by state troopers for failing to signal a left turn opened fire and fled. Authorities say the gunman shot more than 20 people as he drove before being killed by officers outside a movie theater.
Police in Odessa plan a Sunday morning news conference to update the investigation into the chaotic rampage during which the suspect hijacked a mail carrier truck and fired at random as he drove in the area of Odessa and Midland.
The two cities are in the heart of Texas oil country, more than 300 miles (483 kilometers) west of Dallas.
Police have only identified the gunman as a man in his 30s and have not offered a motive.
