- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
- Click here to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
- Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)
(CNN) - At a vigil Sunday night in honor of the victims of the mass shooting in West Texas, Odessa Mayor David Turner praised the authorities for ramming the hijacked mail truck that the attacker was driving and End the massacre.
Seven people were killed and another 22 were injured when Seth Ator, 36, started shooting at random on the tracks after being arrested for not using his signal, police said.
“The reason why that person was arrested was due to a Midland Police officer and an Odessa Police officer. They hit his car, stopped him and when he got out, he was shot, ”he said.
Going forward will be difficult, Turner said, "but with strength and a spirit of 'whatever is necessary' we will show this community, our state and our nation, what it means to be Texans from the west."
- READ: At least seven dead and 20 wounded in shootings in Odessa, Texas, according to police
The attacker had been fired from his job as a truck driver hours before he began the massacre, The New York Times reported, citing interviews with officials. Authorities say they believe he acted alone, but they have not yet determined a reason.
His victims were between 15 and 57 years old, said Odessa police chief Michael Gerke, and included Mary Granados, a 29-year-old woman who worked in the postal service who was talking on the phone with her twin sister as the End of your turn.
A 17-month-old girl and three agents were among the injured.
- READ: Postal service worker was near the end of her shift when she was a victim of the Texas shooting
Mary Granados was one of the victims of the shooting in Odessa.
He was arrested for not using his directional
The attacker was arrested by Texas soldiers in Midland on Saturday afternoon for not using his directional, police said. He began shooting at them with what the police described as an AR-type weapon and quickly walked away. He continued to randomly shoot residents and motorists, police said.
He then hijacked a postal truck and headed to Odessa, about 20 kilometers away. That's where the police confronted him in a parking lot and killed him.
The attacker was hit by a police vehicle and did so. He was soon surrounded by authorities, according to the video and Midland County District Attorney Laura Nodolf.
"At that time the Police had made collective efforts to surround him, and he was not going anywhere, and he was not going to hurt anyone else," Nodolf said. "That is the definition of heroism, when you have people you know are walking towards the fire and could be beaten, and they were."
Investigators are now reviewing 15 different crime scenes and several cars, said FBI special agent Christopher Combs.
Combs said his agency responds frequently to Texas, adding that the FBI is "here now almost every two weeks supporting our local and state partners in cases of shootings."
Combs said at this time that the agency does not believe there is "any connection to any national or international terrorism."
This 17-month-old baby was injured in the shooting in Odessa, Texas.
The victims
Granados' sister, Rosie, said she heard her sister's scream while they were talking on the phone.
"It was very painful," he said. “I just wanted to help her and I couldn't. I thought I had been bitten by a dog or something. I tried to call her by name and she didn't answer. ”
The Ector County School District in Odessa said one of his students was among those killed.
The 17-month-old baby who was injured was taken by plane to the Lubbock University Medical Center, where she remained in satisfactory condition, hospital officials said.
The girl's family said Sunday that she is expected to recover completely.
"It hurt us a lot for families whose loved ones did not survive this tragedy," said their parents, Kelby and Garret Davis, in a joint statement.
One of the injured agents is a soldier from the Department of Public Security and the other two are from the police departments of Midland and Odessa. The soldier is in serious condition and the police are in stable condition.
The number of shooting incidents is increasing
More than 40 people have died in the four shootings in Texas, Ohio and California since July. It is part of a trend that, according to the FBI, worsens every year.
"If we look at the numbers, we are seeing an active attacker every two weeks in this country," Combs said.
The agency has conducted a study on all active shooters, whom they define as "an individual actively involved in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area", between 2000 and 2018 and discovered that the number continues to increase.
"I think it is frustrating for all of us in law enforcement that we still have to do this," he said, referring to the ongoing investigations. “In particular, for the FBI, we do them throughout the country as a service for our state and local partners. It is simply getting worse. ”
This latest shooting took place hours after a series of firearms laws that loosen gun restrictions went into effect in Texas. This list includes laws that will allow weapons on school grounds, apartments and places of worship.
On Sunday afternoon, Governor Greg Abbott commented on the frequency of high-profile shootings in his state since he took office.
"I've been to many of these events," said Abbott.
“I am heartbroken by the cries of people in the state of Texas. I'm tired of the death of the people of Texas. Too many Texans are mourning. Too many Texans have lost their lives. The status quo in Texas is unacceptable, and action is needed, ”he said.
- Amir Vera and Carma Hassan of CNN contributed to this report .