One Dead and at Least 10 Others Wounded in Texas Shooting

At least one person was killed and ten others wounded on Friday after a gunman opened fire in Midland, a west Texas city roughly 330 miles from Dallas, in the latest mass shooting to grip an American community still scarred by a similar attack six years ago.

Police received the first emergency calls about the shooting at 8:03 a.m. local time and responded immediately. For nearly two hours, the suspect was engaged in a standoff with law enforcement officers before being confirmed dead early Friday afternoon, according to the Midland Police Department.

Midland Memorial Hospital said it received nine victims, four of whom were undergoing surgery. Another person was taken to Odessa Medical Center Hospital. The five patients not in surgery were reported to be in stable condition.

“My heart breaks for the victims and their families,” Midland Mayor Lori Blong said during a press conference. “We are praying for every person touched by today’s events and for the law enforcement officers who risked their own safety to protect our community.”

A City No Stranger to Gun Violence

The shooting began in one part of the city before the confrontation moved near a veterinary hospital in another area, according to the Associated Press. Andrea Mendias, who works at an auto body shop near the veterinary hospital, told the AP that the gunfire sounded like at least 40 shots.

SWAT teams and officers from multiple agencies were deployed to the scene. The suspect was “contained” before police confirmed on Facebook that “the active shooter incident had been resolved, and the suspect is confirmed deceased.” Authorities did not immediately release information about the suspect’s identity or a possible motive.

Midland, a city of roughly 140,000 residents in the Permian Basin oil country, is no stranger to mass violence. In 2019, a gunman who had been fired from his oil services job drove through Midland and nearby Odessa firing at random, killing seven people and wounding more than two dozen others in a rampage that stunned the region.

Political Reactions

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick expressed grief over the incident on social media. “Texans are heartbroken over the news of a shooting in Midland,” he wrote. “Please join Jan and me in prayer for the victims, their families, and the city of Midland. Please also pray for our brave first responders who put themselves in harm’s way to keep the Midland community safe. We thank them for their courage.”

The shooting adds to the grim tally of gun violence incidents across the United States, where mass shootings have become a recurring feature of public life. According to the Gun Violence Archive, which tracks incidents in which four or more people are shot, hundreds of such events occur each year in the country.

Authorities said a full investigation was underway and that additional details, including the identities of the victims and the circumstances that led to the shooting, would be released in due course.

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