A campaign has been launched to help a 17-month-old infant with medical costs after she was gravely injured in the recent Odessa-Midland shooting spree.
On the afternoon of Saturday, Aug. 31, a suspect opened fire on officers and drivers on the I-20 in Texas after being pulled over by Odessa Troopers for a traffic violation.
Odessa police confirmed that five people were killed and 21 were injured in the shooting spree.
The infant, Anderson Davis, was hit by bullet fragments, which punctured a hole through her bottom lip and tongue, and left her bottom teeth knocked out, according to the child’s mother.
The bullet fragments also struck the baby in the chest, her mother said, and as a result she “has shrapnel in her right chest, which thank God is superficial.”
“She is alive,” the mother said, adding, “when others are not alive.”
“Her vitals are good,” she said. “She is being flown to Lubbock while we drive.”
“I ask you to continue praying for our hearts as we experience this, pray for complete healing of Anderson, pray for every other family in our same situation, or worse, today and pray for the shooters,” the mother said.
“Please help me by raising money for this sweet sweet baby girl who is so little and doesn’t realize what is happening,” Wilkerson added, adding the family would face considerable expenses.
At the time of reporting, the campaign had amassed over $100,000 out of a $200,000 goal.
“No little one or parents should have to go through what this family is going through,” one of the donors commented on the campaign page. “My heart and prayers and donation are with you.”
Horrific Chain of Events
A terrifying shooting spree that left five people dead began on Saturday afternoon when Texas state troopers tried to pull over a car for failing to signal a left turn, Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said at a press conference at about 6 p.m.The suspect, who has only been identified as a white male in his mid-30s, then reportedly hijacked a U.S. Postal Service vehicle after ditching his car. He then began shooting at random and injuring multiple people.
He then made his way to a Cinergy movie theater in Odessa, where he was located by police officers and shot dead, Midland Police Department said.
“Once this individual was taken out of the picture, there have been no more victims,” Gerke said.
“Something that I want to point out is that this is not your typical active shooter, it was more of a … mobile active shooter which made things increasingly more difficult for our law enforcement,” a spokesperson from the Odessa Police Department told Fox News.
The Odessa Police Department said in a press release late Aug. 31 that at least five people had died in the attack with 21 others sustaining injuries. An active investigation is underway.
Cellphone video showed people running out of a movie theater, and as Odessa television station KOSA aired breaking developments on live TV, their broadcast was interrupted by police telling them they had to clear the area.
In a statement following the shooting, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton described the attack as “evil” and “senseless.”
“I am horrified to see such a senseless act terrorize the fine people of the Permian Basin. Thank you to the courageous local and state first responders who worked quickly today to stop this evil attack,” he said.
“I have asked my law enforcement division and my crime victims services team to assist in any way necessary. Please join Angela and me as we pray for comfort for those who have been impacted by this violent act.”
Vice President Mike Pence told reporters following the shooting that President Donald Trump was “closely monitoring the developments in the investigation in the mass shooting in Odessa.”
Pence added that Trump and his administration “remain absolutely determined” to work with leaders of both parties in Congress to take such steps “so we can address and confront this scourge of mass atrocities in our country.”
“Our hearts go out to all the victims’ families who had loved ones lose their lives.
“We commend the law enforcement in Odessa for their swift and courageous response, but at the president’s direction, we deployed the full resources of the federal government, they’re on site,” he said.
President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter that he had been briefed on the Texas shootings by Attorney General Barr and added that the “FBI and law enforcement is fully engaged.”
