Shooter kills 1 and injures 10 in Texas days after firing at a police officer, officials say

A man who opened fire in the West Texas city of Midland in an attack Friday morning that left one person dead and 10 injured had shot at a police officer just days earlier during a chase, authorities said.

The suspect, 45-year-old Victor Mata Villarreal, already was being sought by authorities when he began firing at police and bystanders in Midland on Friday before barricading himself in an abandoned veterinary clinic, where he was eventually found dead, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Police have provided limited details about how the shooting unfolded. Police arrived in the area after receiving reports of an active shooter, and Mata Villarreal started firing at officers, said Midland Police Chief Greg Snow. Several officers were pinned down behind their patrol cars and had to be rescued by an armored vehicle, Snow said, but no officers were shot.

Police then got everyone out of the area. “We moved to deny more targets for this active shooter,” Snow said.

A few hours after the shooting began, authorities used robot and drone footage from inside the building to confirm the shooter was dead, Midland Mayor Lori Blong. Police did not say how he died.

A spokesperson for the city identified a man killed in the shooting as Ed Scott, a father and husband who worked in solid waste for Midland. He also did a lot of work with local and regional softball organizations, according to the city.

Friends mourning his death described him in social media posts as a softball umpire and volleyball official who was known for his kindness and jokes.

Mata Villarreal, of nearby Odessa, was wanted for attempted capital murder of a peace officer after firing multiple times at a Midland police officer on Wednesday, the state’s public safety agency said.

The officer, who wasn't injured, fired back after initially trying to pull over Mata Villarreal, who drove away, investigators said. His vehicle was found empty a short distance away, they said. Police have not said why the officer tried to stop Mata Villarreal.

Friday’s standoff happened about a half-mile (1 kilometer) from where the shots were fired at the police officer Wednesday.

Police have not said why Mata Villarreal began shooting on Friday or provided any details about the victims, including who they were, how they were shot or the conditions of those still hospitalized.

Midland Memorial Hospital said four people who were brought there underwent surgery and that five had been treated and released.

Calls to numbers listed for some relatives of Mata Villarreal in Texas went unanswered Friday or appeared to be lines that had been disconnected.

Mata Villarreal had several previous encounters with law enforcement, including some arrests, records show.

He was convicted on a 2009 charge of unlawfully carrying a firearm in San Angelo, according to Texas criminal history records.

He was charged in 2003 and 2004 for unlawfully carrying a weapon and unlawful possession of a prohibited weapon, but both cases appear to have been dismissed as part of a plea. He also pleaded no contest to a domestic violence charge in 2008 that was later dismissed.

As police responded to Friday's shooting, dozens of squad cars and law enforcement vehicles descended along what’s normally a busy roadway lined with hotels and auto businesses a few miles west of Midland’s downtown.

Andrea Mendias said she heard what sounded like a small explosion at the closed veterinary clinic next to the auto body shop where she works and saw a number of heavily armed police officers rush into the parking lot. Some appeared to go inside the building.

Mendias said she earlier heard what sounded like at least 40 gunshots.

Video from Mendias showed officers pouring out of the back of an armored police vehicle and police deploying robots into the area.

The city with about 140,000 residents sits in the heart of the state’s oil and gas region and was near the site of a deadly shooting rampage in 2019.

In that shooting, a gunman who had been fired from his oil services job killed seven people and wounded two dozen others while firing at random as he drove around the Odessa and Midland areas. The two cities are more than 300 miles (482 kilometers) west of Dallas.

Associated Press reporters Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia and Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, contributed.

Law enforcement responds to an active shooting scene Friday, June 12, 2026, in Midland, Texas. (B. Kay Richter/Reporter-Telegram via AP) CORRECTION: Corrects byline to B. Kay Richter instead of Luke Dias.

Law enforcement responds to an active shooting scene Friday, June 12, 2026, in Midland, Texas. (B. Kay Richter/Reporter-Telegram via AP)

Law enforcement responds to an active shooting scene Friday, June 12, 2026, in Midland, Texas. (B. Kay Richter/Reporter-Telegram via AP)

Councilwoman Amy Stretcher Burkes, Mayor Lori Blong, Councilman John Norman, Councilwoman-At-Large Robin Poole, and Councilman-At-Large John Burkholder provide information at a news conference about the active shooting on Friday, June 12, 2026, in Midland, Texas. (Luke Dias/Reporter-Telegram via AP)

Law enforcement responds to an active shooting scene Friday, June 12, 2026, in Midland, Texas. (Luke Dias/Reporter-Telegram via AP)

Law enforcement responds to an active shooting scene Friday, June 12, 2026, in Midland, Texas. (Luke Dias/Reporter-Telegram via AP)

Law enforcement responds to an active shooting scene Friday, June 12, 2026, in Midland, Texas. (Luke Dias/Reporter-Telegram via AP)

A helicopter flys over an active shooting scene Friday, June 12, 2026, in Midland, Texas. (Luke Dias/Reporter-Telegram via AP)

Law enforcement responds to an active shooting scene Friday, June 12, 2026, in Midland, Texas. (Luke Dias/Reporter-Telegram via AP)

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is endorsing Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley in the state's Democratic gubernatorial primary, a day after the race was shaken up by the departure of another candidate, and just weeks ahead of the primary election.

At a formal event later Saturday, according to remarks provided to The Associated Press ahead of their delivery, Crowley planned to say that Evers' decision to back him “reflects his confidence that I have the experience, the judgment, and the record to build the coalition we need, defeat Tom Tiffany, and lead effectively from the very first day in office.”

Crowley, 40, is reemerging into a competitive primary for Wisconsin’s open governor’s race that was turned on its head Friday with the departure of Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez. Saying she was abandoning her campaign for the state’s top office amid a campaign finance scandal, Rodriguez earlier in the week fired her campaign manager after discovering her campaign had hundreds of thousands of dollars less on hand than expected.

Crowley, who would be the state's first Black governor if elected, had shuttered his own bid two weeks ago to back Rodriguez. Now, he's returning to a contest against democratic socialist Francesca Hong; former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes; state Sen. Kelda Roys and Joel Brennan, a former top aide to Evers.

A Democrat who opted not to seek a third term, Evers had previously said that he was not going to endorse in the race to succeed him. Now, he's bypassing his current and former lieutenant governors, both of whom have won statewide, in endorsing Crowley, who has never run statewide before.

On a trade visit in Africa, Evers was not expected at Crowley's Saturday event.

Evers also made the last-minute endorsement after previously saying he would not get involved in the primary, his standard practice over the past eight years.

In the first iteration of his campaign, Crowley leaned into his background, highlighting how his family was once homeless in Milwaukee but he rose to become a community organizer and was elected to the state Assembly in 2016 at age 30. He served until the middle of 2020, when he was elected as executive of Milwaukee County, the state’s largest county. He was the first Black person to hold that job and also the youngest at age 33.

Wisconsin's primary election is Aug. 11, and Democrats are hoping to hold onto the governor’s office as they also eye flipping majority control of the state Legislature, which Republicans have held since 2011. The winner of the Democratic primary will advance to the general election against Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, who faces only token primary opposition.

Associated Press reporter Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin contributed to this report.

Democratic candidate for Wisconsin governor Sara Rodriguez speaks to supporters, Monday, July 13, 2026, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)

FILE - Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley addresses a crowd, March 29, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Andy Manis, File)