Midland–Odessa shootings

Midland–Odessa shootings
Odessa truck windshield damaged in the shooting
Midland–Odessa
Midland–Odessa (Texas)
Midland–Odessa
Midland–Odessa (the United States)
LocationMidland/Odessa, Texas, U.S.
DateAugust 31, 2019
3:17 p.m. – 4:20 p.m. (CDT UTC−05:00)
Attack type
Spree shooting
Drive-by shooting, Mass shooting
WeaponsAnderson Manufacturing AM-15 semi-automatic rifle
Deaths8 (including the perpetrator)
Injured25 (24 by gunshot and 1 by glass shards)
PerpetratorSeth Aaron Ator
MotiveUnknown (believed to be mental illness)

On August 31, 2019, a spree shooting occurred in the West Texas cities of Midland and Odessa, involving a gunman shooting multiple people from a vehicle. Eight people were killed, including the perpetrator, and twenty-five people were injured, including three police officers. It was the third major mass shooting to take place in the United States in August 2019, following the El Paso Walmart shooting and the Dayton shooting (both of which took place 13 hours apart).

Authorities identified the shooter as 36-year-old Seth Aaron Ator from Lorena, Texas, a man who had been fired from his job the morning of the shooting spree. He was later shot and killed by police outside a movie theater in Odessa.