Odessa, Texas – 2 September 2019
1. Various of an Odessa water tower
Odessa, Texas – 3 September 2019
2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Judi Hernandez, Odessa Resident:
++partially covered with b-roll++
"When I first moved here in 1992, Odessa was like 20,000 people. It's a city, but it has a small-town atmosphere, kind of everybody knows everybody."
3. Traffic rolls by on a busy, business-laden stretch of roadway
Odessa, Texas – 2 September 2019
4. A truck passes by with a pair of pumpjacks in the distance
Odessa, Texas – 3 September 2019
5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Judi Hernandez, Odessa Resident:
++fully covered with b-roll++
"Even though it's grown because of the (oil) boom and everything … but it's just always remained that small-town feeling."
6. The Permian High School football team practices
7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Judi Hernandez, Odessa Resident:
++partially covered with b-roll++
"Well, of course there's 'Friday Night Lights.' This place kind of becomes a little bit of a ghost town on Friday night. And I'm one of them. Love it."
8. The Permian High practice
Odessa, Texas – 2 September 2019
9. Various of a sign behind a fence that lists Permian's football championships
Odessa, Texas – 3 September 2019
10. Various of candles and chalk messages left by mourners on a walkway at the University of Texas Permian Basin
11. A sign at a restaurant asks people to "Please Pray For The Victims & Families"
12. SOUNDBITE: (English) Reverend Todd Salzwedel, First United Methodist Church of Odessa:
++partially covered with b-roll++
"Those events that happened this last weekend do not define us. But our response to it might. For we are a people of hope. And hope wins."
13. Various of singing at a church vigil honoring the victims
Midland, Texas – 3 September 2019
14. SOUNDBITE: (English) Sergeant Jimmy Young, Midland Police:
"We're a strong community, and we're going to rise from this. We are very lucky to live here."
Odessa, Texas – 3 September 2019
15. Visitors to the Permian Basin Fair enjoy a carnival ride
16. Various of fair-goer Chloe Jackson holding her son, who is wearing a "Permian Basin Strong" shirt
17. SOUNDBITE: (English) Chloe Jackson, Odessa Resident:
"It's definitely a tight-knit community. Everybody knows everybody. And out here everyone's hard-working, resilient, quick to lend a hand."
18. Various of mourners comforting one another near a makeshift memorial at Odessa High School
19. SOUNDBITE: (English) Judi Hernandez, Odessa Resident:
++partially covered with b-roll++
"We're not going to let this one monster control and ruin our lives. He's not going to win. We're going to win, and we're going to persevere. And we're going to keep on living, and we're going to become stronger."
20. A fair attendee walks inside a netted attraction as the sun retreats
FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus122975
The mass shooting in West Texas spread terror over more than 10 miles as the gunman fired from behind the wheel of a car.
Seth Ator zigzagged through Midland and Odessa, two closely intertwined cities now brought closer by tragedy.
The attack began along the oilfields that are the economic lifeblood of the region. It also cut into the neighborhoods where the petroleum boom has made housing expensive and scarce.
Seven people were killed and around two dozen wounded before police cornered and killed the assailant outside a crowded movie theater.
A vigil for the victims was held Tuesday evening at the First United Methodist Church of Odessa, where Rev. Todd Salzwedel told mourners that "those events that happened this last weekend do not define us.
"But our response to it might. For we are a people of hope. And hope wins," he said.
In the days since the attack, the community, known collectively as the Permian Basin, has rallied together.
"We're a strong community, and we're going to rise from this," Midland police Sgt. Jimmy Young said. "We are very lucky to live here."
An upcoming football game featuring the Permian High School football team, made famous by the book and film, "Friday Night Lights," may provide a respite for some.
Others, including Chloe Jackson, are enjoying the Permian Basin Fair, which runs through the weekend.
"It's definitely a tight-knit community. Everybody knows everybody. And out here everyone's hard-working, resilient, quick to lend a hand," said Jackson, who was at the fair Tuesday night with her husband and three boys.
While it continues to very much be a community in mourning, Odessa/Midland vows to remain strong.
"We're not going to let this one monster control and ruin our lives. He's not going to win," Odessa resident Judi Hernandez said. "We're going to win, and we're going to persevere. And we're going to keep on living, and we're going to become stronger."
