In this country, only, does this not register as “shocking breaking news.”
More than two dozen people were injured in Texas on Saturday afternoon when police say two gunmen opened fire in multiple public locations.
The suspects are “currently driving around Odessa shooting at random people,” the Odessa Police Department warned. “At this time there are multiple gunshot victims. The suspect hijacked a U.S. mail carrier truck. Citizens are encouraged to get off the road and use extreme caution.
The Midland Police Department said officers were responding to reports of shooting at a movie theater in Midland, as well as a Home Depot in nearby Odessa. At least 30 people were injured in both cities, CBS News reported, citing police.
“We believe there are two shooters in two separate vehicles,” police announced in a statement on Facebook. One vehicle was described as a Toyota truck, and the other a USPS postal van.
Two shooters, two separate areas, shooting at random people, and over 30 people injured. Who knows how many will die.
More, from HuffPost:
An Odessa police spokeswoman told HuffPost just after 4:30 p.m. local time that there appeared to be “more than one” shooter and that the shootings had been taking place “literally all around town.”
“We’re just telling everyone to stay in their house right now,” she said.
“Shootings taking place ‘Literally all around town.'”
My god.
Unfortunately, in the United States of America circa 2019, unless the death toll passes into double digits, it is unlikely to register as a “mass shooting” anymore. Maybe in this country, in the United States alone, we will have to change the definition of “mass shooting” to something over 10 people killed.
Less than 10 now equates to normal “costs” we pay to exercise that great 2nd Amendment.
This country is sick.
****
Please be careful, everywhere. This nation is armed and ill.
Jason
Any fatalities yet? To be clear, I really, really would like there not to be.
One fatality being reported. I just put an update on my own piece a few minutes ago.
Dammit…one too many.
At least 5 shot, at least one shooter is dead. One person – kid, I gather – is being airlifted to to the university hospital in Lubbock.
Story from the Lubbock paper:
https://www.lubbockonline.com/news/20190831/strongpolice-multiple-gunshot-victims-from-texas-shootingsstrong
tweet:
5 dead, 21 injured, including 3 cops. Started as a traffic stop.
14 people being treated in the hospital in Odessa.
https://www.myplainview.com/news/texas/article/Odessa-police-chief-21-shot-5-killed-in-Texas-14404931.php#item-85307-tbla-8
So as of this one, there have been more people shot this year in mass shootings than all of last year.
Yesterday, my best friend & I went to a local county fair in a semi-rural/semi-exurban area. We visited the tent of the very active local Democratic Party where they were collecting signatures to put gun safety measures on the ballot since our GOP-dominated legislature won’t act except to make guns easily to get and carry. They were getting quite a few, but there was some pushback including some old dude who rambled by shouting “socialism.”
As we were walking the midway, I overheard something about an “active shooter situation” on someone’s TV as we passed by, but I assumed it was some kind of drama or maybe a news report about the prevalence of shootings in the U.S. It was too much to assume there was yet ANOTHER mass shooting.
I haven’t seen too many people point out that Midland is the hometown of the entire Bush clan.
It’s true they lived in Midland in the 50s – but i doubt they ever considered it “home”.
Latest is that the guy had been spiralling down for a long time, and that day he’d bee especially “off” and had been fired. After which both he and the company that fired him called the FBI – the company apparently thought that he was a hazard, and he just sort of rambled during his call. https://www.myplainview.com/news/texas/article/The-Latest-Police-expected-to-release-more-on-14407184.php