City of MidlandAt least one person is dead and nine were in hospital following a shooting in Texas, officials said on Friday.
Police were initially in a “standoff” with the gunman but said the suspect was deceased as of early afternoon on Friday local time in Midland, a town in west Texas some 330 miles (530km) west of Dallas.
There are 11 known victims, including the deceased, local officials said during a press conference. Midland Memorial Hospital said it received nine victims, and four are currently undergoing surgery. Another person was taken to Odessa Medical Center Hospital, NBC News reported.
“My heart breaks for the victims and their families,” Midland Mayor Lori Blong said.
Blong said officers received the first calls about the shooting at 8:03 local time (14:03 GMT) and quickly responded to the scene.
For about two hours after the shooting began, the suspect was in a standoff with officers. The Associated Press reported that police said it began in one part of the city before ending up near a veterinary hospital in another part of the city.
Andrea Mendias, who works at an auto body shop near the veterinary hospital, told the AP that it sounded like at least 40 shots were fired.
Blong said SWAT and other agencies were sent to on the scene, and the suspect was “contained”.
Soon afterwards, Midland Police posted on Facebook that “the active shooter incident had been resolved, and the suspect is confirmed deceased”.
More information about the suspect was not available.
There was also no additional information about the victims. Midland Memorial said the five victims not currently in surgery were in “stable” condition.
Blong said she was not aware of any officers being injured.
“Texans are heartbroken over the news of a shooting in Midland,” Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said on social media.
“Please join Jan and me in prayer for the victims, their families, and the city of Midland. Please also pray for our brave first responders who put themselves in harm’s way to keep the Midland community safe. We thank them for their courage.”
This is not the first time Midland has been impacted by a mass shooting.
The city of about 140,000 residents faced tragedy six years ago when a gunman, who had been fired from his oil services job, drove around firing at random in Midland and nearby Odessa, killing seven people and injuring another two dozen others.
