Midland shooting leaves one dead, 10 injured after police standoff

A roadside encounter in Midland turned deadly after authorities said a 45-year-old Odessa man opened fire during a traffic stop, then resurfaced days later in a burst of gunfire that left a city employee dead, 10 others injured and an entire block locked down. Victor Mata Villarreal was found dead inside an abandoned veterinary clinic after a three-hour standoff on West Wall Street.

The chain of violence began Wednesday night, when investigators said Villarreal fired multiple shots at a Midland police officer during a traffic stop. Police later said he was wanted for attempted capital murder of a peace officer. The officer was not injured and was placed on administrative leave while the case moved into a larger manhunt that stretched into Friday.

Around 8 a.m. Friday, officers responding to an active shooter call on the 4600 block of West Wall Street said Villarreal fired at bystanders and officers before barricading himself inside the vacant clinic. Midland police and the Texas Department of Public Safety said the standoff lasted about three hours. Villarreal was found dead inside the building between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. local time.

Authorities said one person was killed and 10 others were injured, and the person who died was later identified by the City of Midland as Ed Scott, a city employee. Nine victims were taken to Midland Memorial Hospital, where four were rushed into surgery and five were initially listed in stable condition. Officials later said those five stable patients had been discharged.

No law enforcement officers were injured in the Friday incident. The response drew in the FBI, Texas Rangers, Midland police and other federal partners as investigators worked to piece together how a traffic stop escalated into a mass-casualty shooting in the heart of West Texas. Police said the motive has not been confirmed.

Villarreal, who lived in Odessa, had a prior weapons-related record that included a 2009 conviction for unlawfully carrying a firearm in San Angelo. Earlier weapons cases from 2003 and 2004 were dismissed. The violence also revived painful memories in Midland-Odessa, which endured a 2019 shooting rampage that killed seven civilians and injured 25 others, including three law enforcement officers.