Texas gunman reportedly fired from job hours before rampage

By Kate Feldman

New York Daily News

The Texas man accused of shooting and killing seven people Saturday afternoon was reportedly fired from his job at a local trucking company just hours before he opened fire.

Seth Ator, 36, was pulled over by state troopers in Midland Saturday for a traffic violation, then opened fire with an AR-type weapon and drove off, firing randomly as he sped away.

Ator then ditched his gold Honda and hijacked a postal truck, continuing his random firing on the way to Odessa. Police caught up to him in a movie theater parking lot where he was killed in a shootout.

Hours earlier, he had been fired, according to CBS DFW, but officials told the outlet that they don’t believe that was the motivation for the rampage.

A since-deleted LinkedIn account with Ator’s name also identified him as a truck driver.

Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said at a Sunday press conference that officials don’t believe the shooting was an act of domestic terrorism and that it’s still “a very chaotic situation.”

At least 15 crime scenes have been identified between Odessa and Midland.

Seven people were killed, including the postal service worker, 29-year-old Mary Granados. Twenty-two others were injured, including three police officers and 17-month-old Anderson Davis.