In the attack with a firearm in the US state of Texas, the police have prevented the investigation, according to an even higher number of victims. "The shooter would not have gone to the cinema if he had not planned to go in," said Odessa's police chief Michael Gerke. It suggests that he wanted to shoot there with his assault rifle more people. The death of the suspect could have saved the lives of moviegoers
The shooter is said to be a 36-year-old from Odessa. The police already had him in their files because he was arrested in 2001. The motive for the action on the weekend is still unclear, according to the officials. The man acted alone, said Gerke.
The police could have stopped the offender first with a SUV in front of the cinema in the city of Odessa. The attack had begun according to police with a traffic control between the places Midland and Odessa. After the suspect opened the fire, he drove to Odessa. There he continued to fire around himself, parked his car, shot a postal worker and hijacked her van.
Seven people between 15 and 57 years killed the shooter according to authorities, 22 others were injured. Among the injured is a 17-month-old girl. Before the shooter was shot dead by the police, he had hit the toddler's face and chest.
Donation campaign for toddler
The girl should go well according to the circumstances. Texas Governor Greg Abott got a text message from his mother, he said at a press conference. Although the child was shot, it wanted to run around and play. For the medical care of the child a donation campaign was brought into being, which brought in nearly $ 150,000 until Sunday.
After the rampage, several Democratic presidential candidates demanded a drastic tightening of the rules governing the sale of firearms. "Enough, we have to put an end to this epidemic," Joe Biden said.
It was not until the beginning of August that an armed man in a Walmart in the Texas city of El Paso shot dead 22 people. Both crime scenes are 410 kilometers apart.
