This handout image obtained courtesy of Ernst Villanueva taken on August 31, 2019 show a car with multiple bullet holes in the windows after a gunman opened fire on the I-20 highway between Odessa and Midland, Texas
This handout image obtained courtesy of Ernst Villanueva taken on August 31, 2019 show a car with multiple bullet holes in the windows after a gunman opened fire on the I-20 highway between Odessa and Midland, Texas AFP / HO

Texas mass shooter Seth Aron Ator, who killed 7 and wounded 22 in a rampage across West Texas on Saturday, reportedly threatened his neighbors with a rifle and used to shoot animals from the roof of his home. He was also fired from his job hours before he went on a rampage.

A neighbor of the gunman told CNN that he threatened her with a rifle for leaving thrash near his property. She also said that Ator shot animals at night, sitting on top of his house and retrieved them later in the morning.

The woman said she reported Ator to the police last month. However when the cops tried to confront Ator following her report, they had difficulty finding his house as it had no GPS address , no electricity and even no running water.

According to the neighbour, Ator slept in his Toyota Camry, when the weather got too cold, with the heat on. Ator had earlier records for criminal trespass and evading arrests.

Another neighbor too reported being threatened by Ator with a rifle for reasons unknown. According to her, Ator had at least two other guns in his possession.

Ator was also fired from his trucking job hours before the rampage took place in Odessa, Texas, leaving fifteen different crime scenes in his wake, The New York Times reported.

The harrowing incident began to unfold when he shot at Texas state troopers on Interstate 20, injuring one of them. He then proceeded to shoot and kill 7 people including a U.S. postal worker identified as Mary Grandos, a 15-year girl Leilah Hernandez and a 40-year old man Joseph Griffith, who was killed in front of his wife and children.

A 17-month girl Anderson Davies who was shot in the face is currently recovering after she underwent a surgery.

Ator was shot and killed by the police after being cornered in the parking lot of a cinema complex in Odessa. According to the police, Ator's motives still remain unknown. They also couldn't confirm where he might have got AR weapon he used.

The shootings have spurred the people and politicians to call for tougher gun reforms and background checks. However, a day after the shootings took place, Texas relaxed its already lax gun laws. Odessa, Texas Mayor David Turner blamed the 'problem of the heart' and video games for the shootings.

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