At least one person was killed and 10 others wounded in a shooting in Midland, Texas, on Friday morning, and the suspect is also dead, officials said.
As law enforcement responded to a report of shots fired in the southwestern part of the city at about 8 a.m. local time, the suspect opened fire on police and bystanders, the Texas Department of Public Safety said. The suspect, identified as Victor Mata Villarreal, barricaded himself in an abandoned veterinary clinic and died after a standoff with police, Texas DPS said.
The suspect’s body was spotted at about 12:30 p.m. by a robot and drone, Midland Mayor Lori Blong said. No police officers were injured in the shooting.
Villareal had been wanted for attempted capital murder of a peace officer after opening fire on law enforcement during a vehicle chase on Wednesday night, Midland police said. He had managed to escape capture at the time despite pulling over, exiting his car and trading gunfire with officers, police said.
Lee Carlisle, who was at a Super 8 motel near the scene of the shooting on Friday, told CBS News he had gotten an alert on his phone about Villareal after the incident Wednesday night. He said a woman in the neighborhood told him Friday morning she had seen Villareal at the Scottish Delight Motel, so he went to check it out.
“I seen him cross the street from the hotel to the gas station,” Carlisle told CBS News. “I called the police, dispatch, immediately, but they said that they had already got a couple calls. Other people had already been calling in, and probably less than 5 minutes, there was, like, every police officer in Midland, Texas.”
Nine victims were treated at Midland Memorial Hospital, according to the hospital. Four required surgery, with three in recovery and one still in the operating room, the hospital said Friday afternoon. The five other patients have already been discharged.
“My heart breaks for the victims and their families,” Blong said. “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.”
Witnesses described a chaotic scene as dozens of police cars responded to the scene of the shooting.
“We heard several, several gunshots, like 20 gunshots, and then it moved down — the whole situation moved further down,” Carlisle said of the police response. “We see the drones, and then we see the Texas Rangers and the undercover cars with lights on. … Had to be, seems like, 50 police officers, like a small army.”
A woman who was at the hospital where victims were taken told CBS News 24/7 she saw some casualties before being moved to a safe area as the hospital implemented a lockdown.
“My understanding is that the whereabouts of the shooter were not entirely known at the time. And we also wanted to stay out of the way of the essential hospital staff that needed to take care of patients,” the woman, who asked to only be identified as Jane, said.
The victims she saw appeared stable, she said.
The lockdown lasted for about an hour and a half, she said, adding there was “a sense of calm and professionalism” at the hospital.
Jane, who lives in the neighborhood of the hospital, said hearing about the active shooting made her feel scared and unsafe.
“It makes me really scared that there are people walking around with guns who are, you know, who can just kill you and kill anyone around you. And that makes me feel really unsafe and very scared,” she said.
Midland is in western Texas, about three hours south of Lubbock.
“Governor Greg Abbott and First Lady Cecilia Abbott are deeply saddened by the incident in Midland,” the governor’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, said in a statement. “Our hearts are with the victims, their families, and the entire Midland community.”
