Report: Odessa Mass Shooting Gunman Shot Nearly 20 Times by Officers

MIDLAND, TX –– Two years after the Permian Basin was rocked by a mass shooting, the Texas Department of Public Safety has issued the final report that details the horrific rampage. The report showed the shooter was shot nearly twenty times during his final encounter with law enforcement.

The downward spiral that would result in Seth Ator murdering seven people and injuring twenty-four began at 1:27 p.m. on August 31, 2019, at the Journey Oilfield offices where Ator worked.

After Ator was fired he refused to return the remote gate opener and building keys he was issued. He would eventually ram his vehicle through a chain-link fence to exit the property.

The situation prompted Journey Oilfield company to contact the Odessa Police Department, with officers eventually talking to Ator over the phone where he exhibited paranoid tendencies. 

According to the report, "Ator reiterated his paranoid delusions and conspiracy theories centered around child pornography and that certain people were tracking him and impersonating him online."

He would then demand OPD officers "provide him with an 'HTP address' so he could track down who was stalking him and posting child porn."

Shortly after the phone call with police, Ator called his former employer –– who refused to take the call. 

Moments later, 9-1-1 dispatchers began receiving multiple calls regarding a reckless driver along Loop 338 in Odessa. At that time, law enforcement in Midland County was unaware of the situation regarding Ator in Ector County. 

The vehicle description matched Ator's car, and callers stated the driver was displaying a rife. With concerned citizens providing periodic updates on Ator's location, law enforcement believed he intended to return to his place of work.

A little while later, Texas State Troopers Melina Justiss & Charles Pryor were patrolling near I-20 in Midland County when they observed Ator failing to signal and initiated a traffic stop at 3:17 p.m.

As Ator's vehicle continued on the westbound ramp, he "fired multiple shots from a rifle through the back window of his car and into the front windshield of the trooper’s marked patrol vehicle."

The front passenger, Trooper Pryor was immediately shot in the face. Trooper Justiss narrowly avoided being shot and returned gunfire with her handgun through the windshield. Trooper Pryor survived the shooting.

Ator would stop approximately 100 yards from the troopers and continue shooting toward the patrol vehicle and passing motorists. The subsequent investigation revealed Justiss's bullets struck Ator's vehicle multiple times.

As Ator drove along I-20, he called 9-1-1 multiple times –– taunting the operators as he shot at passing motorists. Most of the victims were unaware of what was happening until Ator fired his rifle.

The first set of victims shot were identified as:

• Raul Garcia (deceased)
• Rodolfo Julio Arco (deceased)
• Brad Wayne Grimsley
• Marco Corral (wounded)
• Efe Obayagbona (wounded)
• Fatai Quadri (wounded)
• Timothy Hardaway (wounded)
• Joseph Glide (wounded)
• Daniel Munoz (wounded)

Ator continued his rampage down I-20 until he entered the city limits of Odessa and then ventured down TX-191.

The next set of victims shot were identified as:

• Mark Anthony Gonzalez (wounded)
• Glenda Dempsey(wounded)
• Marian Encinosa Boado (wounded)
• Lielah Hernandez (deceased)
• Nathan Hernandez (wounded)
• Krystal Lee (wounded)
• Coltyn Reyenga (wounded)
• Robert Cavazos (wounded)
• Anderson Lee Davis (wounded)
• Lilia Diaz (wounded)
• Larry Shores (wounded)
• Timothy Beard (wounded)
• Wanda Silvas (wounded)

Ator then encountered USPS worker Mary Granados and proceeded to yank her from the mail carrier vehicle and shot her in the head. He would continue shooting at passing motorists. After retrieving a rifle magazine and a mobile phone from his car, Ator shot Granados a second time as she laid on the ground.

He would then flee the scene aboard the USPS van where he continued terrorizing the city.

The third group of victims were identified as:

• Edwin Peregrino (deceased)
• Jesus Rogelio Alvidrez (wounded)
• Kameron Brown (deceased)
• Joseph Griffith (deceased)
• Coy Edge (wounded)

Ator would then make his way to the Cinergy Theater, but first crossing the Medical Center Hosptial ProCare parking lot where he exchanged gunfire with OPD Officers Zachary Ownes and James Santana –– who were injured.

Trooper Justin Basso saw the shooting unfold and began to chase Ator and fired a few rifle shots through his windshield, striking the back of the USPS van.

As Ator rushed toward the movie theatre, he encountered a roadblock meant to shield the movie theatre goers that were evacuated for fears the large gathering of people could be Ator's next target.

Near the barricade, Ator encountered OPD Officer Kaaiako Vavao and MPD Officer Addisson Prater. As Ator closed in, "Officer Vavao fired multiple rifle shots directly into the windshield of the USPS van as Officer Prater aligned his patrol vehicle and accelerated to strike and deflect Ator’s vehicle before it could slam full force into Officer’s Vavao’s vehicle."

The impact caused the USPS's airbags to deploy and the vehicle to turn sideways.

With the airbags deployed, officers were unable to see inside the USPS van and had no way to know "if Ator had taken a fighting position or a position of cover in the front passenger seat and floorboard."

Officers Vavao and Prater and University of Texas Permian Basin (UTPB) Police Department Lieutenant Brad Standerfer "briefly engaged Ator’s position inside the USPS van with gunfire."

Ator would subsequently engage police officers in a brief gun battle that would result in his death.

According to the autopsy report, Ator had gunshot wounds in the following areas:

• Right Upper Chest
• Shoulder
• Neck
• Left Chest x 4
• Left Abdomen x 2
• Right Abdomen
• Left Hip
• Left Thigh
• Left Knee
• Right Knee
• Left Arm x 2
• Left Forearmx 2
• Multiple bullet fragments embedded on his skin

The firearms investigation revealed Ator had been armed with a semi-automatic .223 caliber rifle. Approximately 63 fired cartridges were retrieved from the suspect’s vehicle, the USPS van, and from the ground at scenes that were linked to Ator.

CSI agents determined four different brands of  .223 caliber ammunition were used by the suspect: Winchester, Frontier, Aquilla, and LC 17. At the time of Ator's death, he had approximately 58 unfired cartridges in his possession.

The investigation also recovered approximately fifty-nine fired cartridges by law enforcement from several scenes.

The autopsy revealed no drugs or alcohol were present in Ator's body at the time of his death. An extensive investigation revealed Ator had multiple encounters with police since the early nineties and had a history of mental illness.

An additional 15 people were targeted by the Ator who survived the attacks without gunshot wounds.