Community rallies for toddler shot in the face during Texas shooting rampage
A toddler has miraculously survived being shot in the face during a Texas shooting rampage when a gunman killed seven people and wounded 22 others, before he was killed by police.
Police said the second mass shooting in Texas in four weeks began on Saturday afternoon (local time) with a routine traffic stop and have identified the shooter as Seth Aaron Ator, 36.
Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said among the victims was a 17-month-old girl, Anderson Davis.
The toddler was hit by bullet fragments, which knocked out her front teeth and left her with a hole in her bottom lip and tongue.
Haylee Wilkerson, who The LA Times have identified as the infant’s “teacher”, has set up a GoFundMe for the little girl, where she has given updates on the child. Almost $240,000 was raised for the toddler by Monday morning.
“Please help me by raising money for this sweet sweet baby girl who is so little and doesn’t realise what is happening,” the page says.
Labor Day shoppers caught up in Texas shooting
Police, motorists and shoppers were all caught up in the chaos that unfolded between the cities of Odessa and Midland in western Texas during the busy Labor Day holiday weekend.
Gerke offered his condolences to their families of all the victims.
"My heart aches for them all," he said.
Authorities have said the shooter was known to police and lived locally, but there was no apparent link to domestic or international terrorism.
"There are no definitive answers as to motive or reasons at this point, but we are fairly certain that the subject did act alone," Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said at a media conference.
Three police officers were shot and wounded and are reportedly in stable condition.
On August 3, a gunman killed 22 people in another Saturday shooting at a Walmart store about 410km west of Midland in the city of El Paso, Texas.
Shooter is a ‘very sick person’, Trump says
US President Donald Trump called the Odessa-Midland shooter "a very sick person" but said background checks on gun buyers would not have prevented recent US gun violence.
In remarks to reporters on Sunday, President Trump said he would be working with Democrats and Republicans on gun legislation when Congress returns this month.
"I think you're going to see some interesting things coming along," he said.
The bloodshed between Midland and Odessa began when two state troopers pulled over a car on Interstate 20 for not using its turn signal and the lone occupant fired at their patrol vehicle with a lightweight semi-automatic, wounding one of them.
After fleeing, the suspect hijacked a postal van and opened fire on passers-by before he was shot dead outside the Cinergy cinema complex in Odessa, police said.
With AAP
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.
