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The gunman in Friday's deadly mass shooting in Texas shot at a police officer days earlier, authorities confirmed to Newsweek on Friday. The suspect, Victor Mata Villarreal, 45, of Odessa, had been sought by police for attempted capital murder of a peace officer after firing multiple shots at a Midland police officer during a traffic stop late Wednesday.

On Friday, in Midland, Texas, an as-yet unidentified gunman opened fire, resulting in one victim killed and at least nine wounded. The shooter, as of this writing, has barricaded himself in a building, which is surrounded by police. At least one person is dead and others were injured in an active shooting situation while the suspect has barricaded himself inside a building in downtown Midland, Texas, Midland Mayor Lori Blong said in a Friday press conference. Midland Mayor Lori Blong said there were 11 victims in total, and that police have established a perimeter and are asking residents to avoid...

As Texas faces what many conservatives describe as the growing influence of Islam, one figure stands out in Republican circles: S. Javaid Anwar, also known as Syed Javaid Anwar. Anwar, a Muslim oil executive from Midland who was born in Pakistan, has donated millions to Governor Greg Abbott’s campaigns while staying active in Muslim-American heritage groups, mosques, and community projects.

My Mom just called me from Abilene, Texas, and said she thought she felt a slight earthquake. I told her to call the police to see, and we also pulled up the USGS website. The website and the police confirmed that the quake was felt in Abilene that happened NNW of Midland. Anyone else feel this?

Midland, Texas is just one of the many American cities that is struggling to keep pace with scorching inflation in the country. The city, whose economy relies on oil, was called the “number 1 spot for inflation” by a new Bloomberg profile of its residents, who shared stories of how the rising cost of living was negatively affecting everyday life. Inflation in Midland has been at about 10% for the last 6 months, the article notes, resulting in “menus at local restaurants [with] sticky notes telling diners that prices have been raised” and a gallon of gas reportedly costing about...

Most of the past forty-eight hours have been spent either in, or en route to and from, the Midland-Odessa region. Far out in west Texas’s Permian Basin, the two cities — towns, really — have a relationship that I still can’t quite unpack. On my last visit, which turned out to be the first time I ever actually set foot in Odessa, a woman told me: “Midland is where you raise families. Odessa is where you raise hell.” She was from Odessa. Midland-Odessa sits in the vast expanse of the old Llano Estacado, the “staked plain” discovered by the Spanish...

When my daughter was 12 she'd walk down the streets of Shanghai to get donuts," says the mom, Megan McMurry.. A federal judge has ruled that two cops who work at a public school in Midland, Texas, can be sued for seizing a 14-year-old from her family's apartment because she was there alone. Despite her pleas, the officers did not let the girl call her parents for hours, nor would they let her pick up the phone when her father called. They also searched the family's home without a warrant. School Resource Officers Kevin Brunner and Alexandra Weaver do not...

Former President Donald Trump's ire for Republicans in Name Only (RINOs) extends beyond just U.S. House and Senate seats, as he chimes in with a "complete and total endorsement" of Texas state Senate candidate Kevin Sparks. Trump wrote in a statement Tuesday from his Save America PAC: "Kevin Sparks of the Great State of Texas is running against RINO Texas Sen. Kel Seliger, who is not helpful to our great MAGA Movement and, in fact, seems like the Texas version of Mitt Romney (and that is not good!). "Kevin is a businessman, loves the people of Midland and West Texas,...

(ChinaAid Association —Nov. 18, 2020) During an interview with William McKenzie, Bush Institute Senior Editorial Advisor, Bob Fu, PhD, founder, and president of ChinaAid, shares how his current situation has affected him, his family, and his ongoing work for freedom through ChinaAid. As Dr. Fu recounts the "very real" issue of freedom from an undisclosed location, he confirms: "The Chinese Communist Party hates me and China Aid for our freedom work." Highlights from Dr. Fu's conversation with McKenzie include: McKenzie: Nonprofit organization China Aid supports rule of law, religious freedom, and human rights. Bob Fu, its founder, has in turn...

MIDLAND, Texas (KOSA) - The large influx of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas now involves Midland. On Sunday, Governor Greg Abbott announced that the federal government planned to move some children from the border to a holding facility in Midland. The migrants arrived in buses overnight. The holding facility is located in the area of FM 1788 and County Road 150 in Midland County. Midland Mayor Patrick Payton confirmed the news to CBS7 on Sunday, saying that city and county officials were scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss the issue. Midland County Sheriff David Criner says that...

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gave an update Tuesday night regarding the state’s response to dam conditions and flooding in mid-Michigan. A breached dam caused by several days of rainfall and rising water has forced the evacuation of about 10,000 people in mid-Michigan. READ: Evacuations underway in mid-Michigan after Edenville Dam breaks Whitmer urged residents in Midland County to evacuate as soon as possible. She said both the south and west side of Midland had been evacuated. “Please, get somewhere safe now,” Whitmer said. “This is serious.” She asked residents to either go stay with a relative or...

bout 10,000 residents have been evacuated in the US state of Michigan after two dams breached following days of heavy rain, officials say. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for areas near the Tittabawassee River after the Edenville and Sanford dams failed. Parts of Midland, a city some 140 miles (209 km) of Detroit, could be under 9ft (2.7m) of water, authorities said. Dow chemical company, which is based in the city, has set up emergency steps. The Edenville dam collapsed on Tuesday. As of Wednesday morning, the Sanford dam remains intact, but floodwaters have been flowing...

A proposal for a $569 million bond to build two new high school buildings in Midland failed by 25 votes in the November election, a margin slim enough it set off calls for a recount. The ballots were recounted manually, and to the delight of Midland ISD officials, the results flipped and the proposal passed by a margin of 11 votes. But last week, a Midland elections staffer found a box on the bottom of a shelf in the office containing 836 ballots that weren’t tallied in the recount. Those votes threaten to again reverse the election results, which school...

FBI special agent Christopher Combs said Ator called the agency’s tip line...making “rambling statements about some of the atrocities that he felt that he had gone through.” “He was on a long spiral of going down,” Combs said. “He didn’t wake up Saturday morning and walk into his company and then it happened. He went to that company in trouble.” ...Ator had previously failed a federal background check for a firearm, said John Wester, an agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Wester did not say when Ator failed the background check or why.

ODESSA, Texas (AP) — The gunman in a spate of violence after a routine traffic stop in West Texas had just been fired from his job and called both police and the FBI before the shooting began, authorities said Monday. Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said 36-year-old Seth Aaron Ator had been fired Saturday from Journey Oilfield Services. He said both Ator and the company called 911 after the firing but that Ator was gone by the time police showed up. FBI special agent Christopher Combs says Ator’s statements on the phone were “rambling.” Authorities said Ator killed seven people...

Why no news or word (thread) about the Odessa shooter, Seth Ator???

The man who killed seven people in Odessa, Texas, over the weekend had been fired from his trucking job hours before the mass shooting, according to multiple reports. The gunman, identified Sunday as Seth Aaron Ator, lead officials on a high speed chase during which he indiscriminately fired on motorists and police officers. Ator was killed after being chased by officers. The New York Times first reported that Ator had been fired from his trucking job in Odessa. ADVERTISEMENT He was pulled over Saturday by state troopers for failing to use a turn single before beginning firing, according to police....

A neighbor of the Odessa mass shooter says she reported him to police last month — after he threatened her with a rifle for leaving trash near his property — but cops couldn’t find his house on account of it having no GPS address or electricity. The woman told CNN that Seth Ator, 36, would often sit on top of his home and shoot animals at night, which he would then go and retrieve afterwards. SNIP Ator would often sit and sleep inside his Toyota Camry with the heat on when the weather would get to cold, the woman said....

Details are beginning to emerge about the gunman who killed seven and injured at least 19 others during a shooting rampage in Odessa and Midland, Texas on Saturday. The suspect, identified as 36-year-old Seth Ator, had a criminal record dating back to his teenage years. In 2002, Ator pleaded guilty to criminal trespassing and evading arrest, both misdemeanors in Texas. He avoided jail time but received two years of probation according to public records, which indicate the crimes took place in McLennan County. Adjudication was deferred in the case, which can be granted to first-time offenders and allows a conviction...

<p>Seth Ator has been identified as the accused gunman who was shot and killed by police after a rampage in Odessa and Midland, Texas, according to the Odessa Police Department. Police said the shooter was taken down by officers at the Cinergy movie complex in Odessa. The incident began around 3:15 p.m. local time on Saturday, August 31, as an attempted traffic stop along Interstate 20.</p>