Seth Ator Bio, Wiki
Seth Ator (full name Seth Aaron Ator of Odessa) has been identified as the 36-year-old gunman who was shot and killed by police after a rampage in Odessa and Midland, Texas. Police said Ato was taken down by officers at the Cinergy movie complex in Odessa. The incident began around 3:15 p.m. local time on Saturday, August 31st, as an attempted traffic stop along Interstate 20. Eight people, including the perpetrator, were killed, and at least 16, including three police officers, were injured.
Odessa police described the shooter as a recently-fired 36-year-old Seth Aaron Ator, a trucker from Odessa, whom they shot and killed outside a movie theater.
Seth Ator Age
According to Texas’ birth index, Ator was born on September 27th, 1982 and was 36 years old as at the time police gunned him down, August 31st, 2019.
Seth Ator Parents, Siblings
Accroding to online records, Seth Ator parents were listed as Debra Sue Warren and Denis Keith Ator. Ator’s father is based in San Antonio while his mother lives in Amarillo. Ator’s parents were married in 1978 and divorced in 1987, according to records via the Texas Department of State Health Services. Records show that Ator also has one sister. According to Ancestry, the Ator family has long roots in Texas.
Seth Ator Education
Seth Ator was originally from central-eastern Texas. He graduated from Lorena High School in 2000.
Seth Ator Career
Seth Ator reportedly worked as a truck driver. According to Heavy, Ator had a commercial license. The Texas Department of Public Safety is responsible for issuing commercial driver’s licenses. A search of online records does not bring up any current licenses listed under Ator’s name.
A LinkedIn page with Ator’s name attached to it shows that he worked as a truck driver based in Midland, Texas. The listed company may have been a joke or intended to be sarcastic. The page lists Ator’s employer as “At&terdsniffers.”
Ator also reportedly once failed a background check when he was applying for a job. U.S. Representative Tom Craddick shared that information with the Midland Reporter-Telegram.
Seth Ator Criminal History
According to the Odessa Police is a Sunday’s, September 1st press conference, the gunman had a prior arrest history. According to a statewide criminal history search on the Texas Department of Public Safety’s website, Seth Ator was charged with “Criminal Trespass” on August 3rd, 2001, in McLennan County, Texas. It was a Class B Misdemeanor.
Ator was then charged with a second offense for Evading Arrest. The record shows that Ator issued a guilty plea in February of 2002 and received a sentence of 24 months on probation.
The case was listed as a “deferred adjudication.” In the state of Texas, it’s a type of probation in which the conviction is kept off the defendant’s criminal record.
Seth Ator Midland-Odessa Shooting
The shooting began when police stopped a car between the cities of Midland and Odessa. The gunman has since been identified as Seth Actor. Seven victims were killed in Saturday’s August 31st rampage, according to federal officials. More than 20 others including a 17-month-old girl were injured. Three law enforcement officers who were injured, including the state trooper who was shot during the traffic stop, are expected to recover. At one point, he abandoned his car and stole a US postal vehicle.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the driver was in a gold vehicle. The car was still moving when the gunman, now identified as Seth Ator, “pointed a rifle toward the rear window of his car and fired several shots toward the DPS patrol unit.” Officials shared during a press conference Sunday afternoon that the weapon was an AR-style rifle. Police later shot dead the gunman near a cinema.
One of the two troopers was shot and Ator sped away from the scene. Police have confirmed that Ator was pulled over for a traffic violation, specifically for a “failure to signal.” Officials added that there was not an active warrant for Ator at the time of the traffic stop.
Odessa Police said Ator continued to fire from his moving vehicle at random people as he drove through Midland and Odessa. He shot a civilian at east Loop 338 and I-20, then headed through the city of Odessa and kept firing.
Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke explained that Ator abandoned his original vehicle and hijacked a United States Postal Service mail truck. The mail carrier who had been operating the truck was identified as Mary Granados. She was shot and killed.
Officials say they believe he had no connection to terrorism.
The Odessa Police Department has confirmed that the gunman in Saturday’s August 31st shooting was Seth Aaron Ator of Odessa. FBI agents executed a search warrant at Ator’s home Sunday afternoon, KMID-TV reported.
Property records in Ector County show that Ator purchased a lot on Cavalli Circle in Odessa in January of 2018. The land has a market value of $9,260 and he lived in a mobile home.
Sad. A woman weeps, as she lay in a field, with others around her; dozens of rounds of gunfire can be heard in the distance.
She tweeted: “one of the scariest thing ever to hear n be so close to a shoot!! So glad they shot him dead!” #OdessaShooting
— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) September 1, 2019
Police had originally been looking for two potential gunmen. But after Ator was shot, officials stated that there was no longer a threat of an active shooter. Investigators now say they are confident Ator acted alone.
Midland–Odessa Shooting Victims
Seth Ator killed seven people, ranging in age from 15 to 57. Seventeen more were hospitalized for injuries. Among the injured are three police: a Texas state trooper, a Midland police officer, and an Odessa police officer. The youngest victim is a wounded 17-month-old child. One of the victims was a USPS postal worker, aged 29. It was her postal vehicle that the shooter hijacked to continue his shooting spree.
