At least 5 killed, 21 shot at in US state of Texas: Police
Houston, Sep 1: At least five persons were killed and 21 injured in the US state of Texas as a shooter targeted random people after being pulled over by traffic officials on Saturday, police said.
The incident happened in the area of Odessa and nearby Midland and police said the gunman was shot dead at the Cinergy movie theatre after a chase.
However, police did not identify the shooter by his name.
The man, who was in his 30s, opened fire around 3 pm (local time) after he was pulled over. He shot at the trooper who stopped him and began shooting people at random, local media quoted Chief Michael Gerke of the Odessa Police Department as saying.
The shooter eventually ditched his car, hijacked a US Postal Service vehicle and continued to open fire, he said. Two law enforcement officers were injured.
There were at least five deceased and 21 injured in the shooting, Gerke said.
Initially it was suspected that two people were involved in the shooting and police had said they were believed to be driving around separately in a gold/white-coloured Toyota vehicle and a stolen US Postal Service van.
In a Facebook post, the Midland Police Department said: "There is no active shooter at this time. All agencies are investigating reports of possible suspects."
During the shooting, authorities urged public to get off the road "and use extreme caution".
President Donald Trump said he has been briefed about the incident by Attorney General William Barr. "FBI and Law Enforcement is fully engaged," he tweeted.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott described the incident as a "senseless and cowardly attack".
"The state of Texas and the Department of Public Safety are working closely with local law enforcement to provide resources as needed and deliver justice for this heinous attack," he said in a statement.
"I thank the first responders who have acted swiftly and admirably under pressure, and I want to remind all Texans that we will not allow the Lone Star State to be overrun by hatred and violence. We will unite, as Texans always do, to respond to this tragedy," he added.
The mass shooting incident in the western Texas cities, located 32 km apart, happened nearly a month after a gunman killed 22 people and injured over two dozen as he opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso in the far western part of the state. The gunman in that shooting was arrested and charged.
Firearms caused nearly 40,000 deaths in the US in 2017, which was highest in 50 years, according to official data.
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Misuse of power, money to control election mechanism seen during Maharashtra polls: Sharad Pawar
Pune (PTI): NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday claimed the misuse of power and money to control the entire election mechanism, which was never before seen in any state assembly or national polls, was witnessed in Maharashtra.
Pawar made the statement when he visited senior activist Dr Baba Adhav, who is protesting against the alleged "misuse of EVMs" in the recent state polls in Maharashtra.
Adhav, who is in his 90s, began his three-day protest at Phule Wada, the residence of social reformer Jyotiba Phule, in the city on Thursday.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies, the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), have been alleging manipulation of EVMs in the recently held Maharashtra Assembly elections, which saw a landslide victory by the Mahayuti.
The Mahayuti, comprising the Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP, won 230 out of 288 assembly seats in the November 20 polls, while the MVA managed just 46 seats.Talking to reporters, Pawar said elections were conducted recently in the country, and there is a restlessness among the people about these.
Baba Adhav's agitation represents this restlessness, he said.
He said, "There is a murmur among the people that the recent polls in Maharashtra saw 'misuse of power' and 'floods of money', which was never seen in the past. Such things are heard of in local-level polls, but taking over the entire election mechanism with the help of money and misuse of power was not seen before. However, we witnessed it in Maharashtra, and people are restless now."
He added that people were recalling late socialist ideologue Jaiprakash Narayan and felt somebody should take a step forward.
"I heard Baba Adhav has taken a lead into this issue and is agitating at Phule Wada. His protest gives hope to the people, but it is not enough. A mass revolt is necessary, as the danger of the parliamentary democracy getting destroyed looms," Pawar said.
The former Union minister said those who have reins of the country in their hands are least bothered about this.
"Despite widespread discussion over it (alleged misuse of EVMs) in the country, whenever the opposition tries to raise the issue in the Parliament, they are not allowed to speak. Opposition leaders have been seeking an opportunity to speak on these issues for six days, but their demands have not been accepted even once. It shows they want to attack parliamentary democracy," he claimed.
He said Dr Adhav's protest is a fine example of someone revolting against the issue and expressed confidence that his protest will create a ripple effect.
