Odessa gunman had record in Central Texas

The 36-year-old Odessa man accused of killing seven people and injuring 22 others in West Texas on Saturday has a criminal record in Central Texas, according to Texas Department of Public Safety online records.

A DPS criminal history search shows that Seth Aaron Ator was arrested in August 2001 for an evading arrest charge and a criminal trespass charge in McLennan County when he was 18. Ator pleaded guilty to both Class B misdemeanor charges, according to DPS records. Sentences in both cases were deferred in 2002.

Online records for Ator also showed previous addresses in Lorena and Waco.

Odessa police had identified Ator on its Facebook page as the shooter in a series of apparently random attacks in the Midland-Odessa area. In a news conference on Sunday, Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke refused to say the name the gunman, explaining that he did not want give the shooter any publicity, according to the Associated Press.

RELATED: 7 killed, 22 injured in Midland-Odessa shooting rampage, police say

Police said the rampage started when a state trooper stopped Ator along Interstate 20 for failing to signal a left turn Saturday afternoon. Authorities said Ator then pointed a rifle out the rear of his vehicle and fired several shots at the patrol car pulling him over, the Associated Press reported.

The gunshots struck one of the two troopers inside and Ator fled the scene. Witnesses described gunfire near shopping centers and busy intersections, the AP reported. At one point, Ator hijacked a U.S. Postal Service vehicle and drove to the Cinergy Movie Theater in Odessa, where he was eventually shot and killed by police officers.

The identities of those killed Saturday have not yet been released, and police on Sunday said Ator’s motive was not yet known.