Best views, weather, etc. How to test them 👓 SC, Ala. sites look back Betty Ford honored
Midland-Odessa Shootings

Gunman in Texas shooting bought gun in private sale: Here's what we know

The gunman who killed seven people and wounded 25 more in a shooting rampage along a west Texas highway Saturday obtained the firearm he used through a private sale, avoiding a background check, according to multiple reports. 

A person-to-person sale allowed him to buy the AR-style rifle, anonymous law enforcement officials told The Associated Press and ABC News. The AP source was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation. 

In Odessa, many returned to their normal routines Tuesday after the shooting over the holiday weekend sparked fear and chaos there and in Midland.

Here's what we know Tuesday:

How did the gunman get his firearm?

Police have not officially said how the shooter obtained the weapon he used. Officials including Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said the shooter previously failed a gun background check, and did not go through a background check for the rifle he fired Saturday. 

Online court records show he was arrested in 2001 in connection with a misdemeanor offense, but that would not have prevented him from legally purchasing firearms in Texas.

A "mental health issue" caused the gunman to fail a federal background check in 2014, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press. His request to purchase a firearm at the time was denied. 

Move over, 'Friday Night Lights':Texas shooting brings together Odessa, Permian teens to help survivors

John Wester, an agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, confirmed the gunman had previously failed a federal background check for a firearm. Wester did not say when or why the check was failed.

A private sale, instead of one at a licensed gun dealer, would have allowed the gunman to avoid the background check for a AR-style rifle. 

Gunman was 'violent, aggressive person,' neighbor says

In an interview with the Associated Press, neighbor Rocio Gutierrez said the shooter was "a violent, aggressive person."

Gutierrez said the man would shoot rabbits and other animals at all hours of the night.

"We were afraid of him because you could tell what kind of person he was just by looking at him," Gutierrez told the news agency. "He was not nice, he was not friendly, he was not polite."

'We are one':Community vows to heal as police investigate motive for West Texas shootings

FBI Special Agent Christopher Combs said the shooter's home was "a very strange residence" that reflected his mental state.

Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said Monday that the gunman had been fired the morning of the shooting. Both he and his employer at Journey Oilfield Services called 911 to complain, but no threats of violence were made. The gunman later called the FBI's tipline.

“Can’t speak to his motives or why he called,” Gerke said.

Combs described the calls as "rambling statements about some of the atrocities that he felt that he had gone through."

A Texas Department of Public Safety officer was unaware of those events when he pulled the gunman over 15 minutes later for failing to signal a turn. The man fired on the trooper during the stop and sped away, beginning his massacre.

“He was on a long spiral of going down," Combs said. "He didn’t wake up Saturday morning and go into his company and then it happened. He went to that company in trouble and had probably been in trouble for a while."

The gunman was killed in a shootout with police following his rampage that spanned 10 miles. Authorities say the gunman fired on other motorists and passers-by around the two Texas cities.

Victims' names released

The city of Odessa released the names of the victims Monday evening. The victims'  ages ranged from 15 to 57.

Leilah Hernandez, 15, celebrated her quinceañera in May, grandmother, Nora Leyva, told the Washington Post. Leilah's 18-year-old brother, Nathan, was shot in the arm while his arms were around her.

Mary Granados, 29, was a postal worker killed in the gunfire, the U.S. Postal Service confirmed. Rosie Granados, Mary's sister, told CNN that she heard Mary scream as she was shot while talking on the phone. “It was very painful,” Rosie Granados told the news outlet.

Joseph Griffith, 40, was waiting at a traffic light with his wife and two children when he was fatally shot, Carla Byrne – Griffith's oldest sister – told the Washington Post. “This maniac pulled up next to him and shot him, took away his life, murdered my baby brother," Griffith told The Post. "Like nothing. We are so broken.”

A postal worker, 15-year-old student:These are the victims killed in Texas shooting

Rodolfo “Rudy” Arco, 57, who owned a trucking company in Odessa, was driving Saturday when three bullets were fired at his truck. Two went through the cab and one came through the window and killed him instantly, sister Maria Arco said. 

Kameron Brown, 30, had survived the deserts of Afghanistan as a U.S. Army soldier. He had worked at Standard Safety & Supply, a first-aid and fire protection service company based in Odessa.

Edwin Peregrino, 25, was visiting his parents in Odessa when he went outside to investigate the sound of gunshots and was hit, The Post reported.

Raul Garcia, 35, was a truck driver from El Paso. The father of four was returning home when he was killed, relatives said. "Just like my son said, 'Mom, now he'll be a truck driver in heaven,' " Garcia's wife, Perla Garcia, told KVIA-TV.

Among the injured were three law enforcement officers: Zachary Owens of the Midland Police Department, James Santana of the Odessa Police Department and Chuck Pryor of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

A 17-month-old girl was also wounded. Abbott read a text from the mother of the child at a news conference Sunday. 

"Thank you all for praying, this is all of our worst nightmare, but thank God she's alive and relatively well," Abbott said, reading the woman's message. "She goes on to say that, 'Toddlers are funny because they can get shot but still want to run around and play." 

Contributing: John C. Moritz, Corpus Christi Caller Times; Molly Duerig and Perry Vandell, Arizona Republic; Kristin Lam, USA TODAY; The Associated Press.

Featured Weekly Ad