United States: Five killed in "blind shooting" in Texas

At least five people were killed and 21 wounded by a man who randomly fired at motorists in the Texan town of Odessa in the southern United States before being shot dead by police on Saturday. . "We have at least 21 dead, 21 shot dead and at least five deaths at this stage", told reporters a spokesman for the police of the city of Odessa. According to the mayor of nearby Midland, interviewed on Fox News, three police officers are among the wounded.

The umpteenth shooting came less than a month after a gunman shot dead 22 people in another Texas town, El Paso, about 500 kilometers west of Odessa. Police in this city of about 100,000 inhabitants had initially reported of "an individual (possibly two) driving in Odessa while shooting random people". She had asked the locals not to take the road and be extremely careful.

This was the moment in Texas shot & stopped the Odessa mass shooting suspect as he drove towards them in a stolen U.S. postal service van. (Julie Vicknair posted this on her Facebook page) pic.twitter.com/tYAjUQ4QGp

– David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) September 1, 2019

"Loose"

The shooting began when a patrol car attempted to stop a vehicle on I-20, between Odessa and the nearby town of Midland, but "the driver, the only occupant of the car, pointed a rifle through the rear window of his vehicle and fired several shots at the police patrol "said the Texas Department of Public Security in a statement. A police officer was wounded and the shooter managed to flee "while continuing to shoot innocent people", riddling several cars with bullets.

"I just learned that a friend has died," Odessa Mayor David Turner told Fox News. "That coward stopped next to" the car where the mayor's friend was stopped at a stop, with his family, and opened fire, told David Turner. He was later killed in an exchange of fire with the police. The reasons for this killings are not known.

"Put an end to this epidemic"

President Donald Trump said on Twitter that he was briefed on the shooting: "The FBI (the Federal Police, ed) and the police are fully engaged," he said. The shooting in a supermarket in El Paso, a border town in Mexico, had killed 22 people on August 3, mainly Hispanics. Police arrested a 21-year-old white man, who said he had targeted "Mexicans" first and foremost. After this tragedy Donald Trump was pointed out, accused of fueling hatred towards Hispanic immigrants.

Just briefed by General Attorney Barr about the shootings in Texas. FBI and Law Enforcement is fully engaged More to follow.

– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 31, 2019

And the El Paso shooting was followed a few hours later by another in Dayton, Ohio, where nine people were killed. The eternal debate over the control of the circulation of firearms had then resumed and will constitute again one of the stakes of the campaign for the presidential one of 2020. "My heart is broken, I feel nauseous and angry. A few weeks after the horror in El Paso, another community in Texas was terrorized by gun violence. Enough. We must put an end to this epidemic, "tweeted former Vice President Joe Biden, well placed in the race for the Democratic primary for the next presidential election.

I'm heartbroken, sickened, & angry. Weeks after the horror in El Paso, another community in Texas has been terrorized by gun violence. Enough. We must end this epidemic.@DrBiden What is your response at great risk.

– Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 1, 2019

Following the El Paso shootout, Donald Trump favored "common sense" reforms on arms sales, before backtracking after a conversation with the boss of the powerful pro-arms lobby. NRA, Wayne LaPierre. Former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, another of the candidates for the Democratic primary, appealed to the Senate, controlled by the Republicans, "who refuses to move on a reform on arms control". "How many Americans are you going to sacrifice for the NRA?" He asked.