Police say Midland suspect was wanted over rifle fire at officer two days before mass shooting
Police later found him dead, while one other person was killed and at least nine or 10 people were injured, according to AP and local reporting.
In 30 seconds
- AP reports that Texas public-safety officials identified the suspect as Victor Mata Villarreal, 45, of Odessa.
- According to AP, officials said Villarreal was already wanted after allegedly firing multiple times at a Midland police officer during a Wednesday night traffic stop.
- The Midland Reporter-Telegram reported on June 11, citing Midland police, that the driver left his vehicle, fired rifle rounds at an officer, fled and was not found despite a search.
- AP reports that the officer in the Wednesday incident was not injured and that the suspect’s vehicle was later found empty nearby.
Midland (West Texas city in the Permian Basin oil region, about 500 kilometres west of Dallas-Fort Worth) was the scene of Friday’s shooting and the earlier traffic-stop incident. Odessa (nearby West Texas city, about 30 kilometres from Midland) is where authorities said Victor Mata Villarreal lived. Victor Mata Villarreal (45-year-old officially identified suspect, named by Texas public-safety officials and local police) is accused by authorities of firing at a Midland officer on June 10 and of carrying out Friday’s attack before being found dead. The Texas Department of Public Safety (state law-enforcement agency overseeing highway patrol and the Texas Rangers) provided the key official identification cited by AP. The Texas Rangers (state investigative division within DPS, founded in the 19th century) are leading parts of the investigation, according to local reports. Midland Memorial Hospital (the city’s main hospital) treated victims after Friday’s shooting, according to local and international reports.
Background
West Texas has recent precedent for mass-casualty shootings that began around traffic stops or police encounters. In August 2019, the Midland-Odessa area was hit by a shooting spree that killed seven people and injured more than 20 after a traffic stop involving state troopers; that case remains a reference point in local public-safety planning. Separately, the Violence Prevention Project’s database of U.S. mass shooters from 1966 to 2025 records more than 200 incidents and highlights prior criminal history and observable warning signs as recurring research categories, although those aggregate findings do not establish motive in the Midland case.
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