West Texas shooter fired from job before unleashing mayhem, killing 7
The 36-year-old man who went on a driving massacre through small West Texas towns was fired from his job just hours before he was pulled over by police for failing to use his left-turn signal.
According to law enforcement, the gunman was fired from his trucking job Saturday morning. After the firing, he called 911 and the FBI and made "rambling" statements, FBI special agent Christopher Combs said Monday.
FOX Business is choosing not to identify the gunman to stop his name from gaining notoriety for his crimes.
"This did not happen because he was fired," Combs said. "He showed up to work enraged."
When officers pulled him over for the traffic violation, the 36-year-old gunman pointed an AR-style rifle out of the back window of his car, shooting and injuring a trooper before he fled, shooting at random people across town.
Of those shot and killed included a 29-year-old postal worker, Mary Grandos. The shooter hijacked her U.S. postal van, driving to a movie theater complex where he was eventually cornered by police and killed.
Officials say the man had prior convictions for trespassing and evading arrest.
State lawmaker Rep. Tom Craddick told the Midland Reporter-Telegram newspaper the shooter had previously failed a background check. No details were available at the time of publication as to why he failed.
Among the seven people who lost their lives: a 15-year-old girl, Leilah Hernandez and 40-year-old Joseph Griffith.
People mourned the loss of life at a memorial service Sunday.
Celeste Lujan, left, and Yasmin Natera hold a sign in honor of Leilah Hernandez during a vigil for victims of the shooting spree the day before, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019, at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin quad, in Odessa, Texas. (Jacy Lewis/Reporter-Telegram via AP)
According to The Washington Post, Hernandez was with her brother, mom and mom's boyfriend. The three were visiting a car dealership where her brother was about to buy a truck he had been saving his money for. As the brother-sister pair walked out with the keys, the gunman drove by, killing her.
At least 22 other people were injured.
The officers serving the region were shot and injured in the havoc, but are expected to recover.
It’s unclear whether the shooter’s firing was behind the rampage.
Police identified at 15 different locations between Midland and into Odessa are designated crime scenes.
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