JUDY WOODRUFF: The weekend
shooting rampage in West
Texas has left two more
American communities

in mourning.

Seven people were killed in
Odessa and nearby Midland on
Saturday, and another 22 people

were wounded, including
a 17-month-old girl.

It came after state troopers
stopped the alleged shooter for
driving his car erratically.

He shot one of the troopers
and then sped away,
firing at people randomly.

William Brangham gets an update.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Judy,
there was an emotional
vigil last night for
victims of the shooting.

The gunman's motive
is still unknown.

He was apparently fired from
his job just before the traffic
stop that started the shootings.

This, of course, all comes less
than a month since the massacre
at the Walmart in El Paso

that killed 22 people.

Mitch Borden of Marfa
Public Radio joins me
from Midland via Skype.

Mitch, thank you very
much for doing this.

Could you just tell me, first
off, what we know about the
seven victims who were killed

in this rampage?

MITCH BORDEN, Marfa Public
Radio: We know they ranged in
age by quite a bit, the youngest

being 15 and the
oldest being 57.

The youngest was a high school
student, a sophomore at a
local Odessa high school.

And other than that,
information is coming out
slowly about the victims.

There are fund-raisers.

But, so far, at least from
what I have seen, they haven't
released a complete list of the

names of the dead.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And this is
such a strange type of mass
shooting, where it's going sort

of between these two cities
from location to location.

How are the two communities
of Midland and Odessa doing,
grappling with all of this?

MITCH BORDEN: Just to
clear things up, the
traffic stop probably
started in Midland County,

but it mostly took
place in Odessa.

The shooter never went to
the city limits of Midland.

And both communities, I
think, are just in shock.

After being at the vigil last
night, people are ready to
heal, but people are scared.

This happened in so many places,
so quickly, so many people
were affected, that, you know,

it's only, what, two days later.

Like, people are trying
to still just understand
how this happened.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And Governor
Abbott today said we still
don't know anything about the

motive of what drove
this man to act this way.

But he did say something, that
they found out something about
him failing some background

checks for purchasing guns.

Can you tell us more about that?

MITCH BORDEN: Yes, it does --
it did come out in a presser
held earlier today by the

- - by law enforcement
officials that he had in the
past failed a background check.

They didn't release
any more information.

They also said they didn't
know how he obtained
the assault-style weapon
that he used in the

shooting.

Other than that, we will
just have to wait for them
to release more information.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So
this massacre, following
El Paso, also occurs
right when a series of

new state laws go into
effect that would loosen
prior gun regulations
in the state of Texas.

What are those changes?

MITCH BORDEN: There's a lot.

There were eight laws that came
into effect on September 1.

But a lot of them make it
easier to carry guns in certain
settings, such as houses of

worship during a disaster.

One increased the amount
of school marshals that
can carry a firearm.

And at a presser --
a presser yesterday,
Governor Abbott addressed
a crowd and talked to them

about action was needed,
but he didn't specify
what type of action.

And when asked about,
like, these regulations,
he stated that some of
them make situations

safer, such as the school one,
where school marshal -- more
school marshals can be armed.

So he didn't want to really
engage on the idea that maybe
these regulations make things

unsafe.

And, so far, there hasn't
been any more comment around
Odessa on this matter.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: I mean, calls
for new gun control measures
always follow these types

of shootings.

We saw that after El
Paso and Dayton, and we
certainly saw it here.

And I know former Congressman
Beto O'Rourke was in the region.

I know you were with -- I take
it, with him earlier today.

He has made much of his
presidential campaign
based on gun control.

He's called for some very
aggressive measures, like
mandatory buybacks of
assault-style weapons.

Did he talk about that today?

And, if so, what is your
sense of, how does that
play in Texas to Texas ears?

MITCH BORDEN: You know, I --
when I saw him, he was visiting
a Labor Day celebration, a

potluck at a union hall
-- or, like, a celebration
put on by unions.

And he was just there trying
to spread support from all
of West Texas, El Paso.

The shooting in El Paso
happened less than 30 days ago.

And it was just about trying to
bring the communities together.

And he also said action
needed to be taken.

He didn't go into, like -- and
during his speech, he didn't
go into the certain policies,

but he did express like,
yes, more things need to
be done on a policy level.

He wasn't shy about that.

I don't think he's
usually shy about that.

How that will play in Texas,
I think Texas is a red state.

I think a lot of people love
guns in this state and are
very protective of their Second

Amendment rights.

At the same time, two mass
shootings in less than 30 days.

I think some people
do want change.

And I think you can get really
granular when you go into what
type of change people want.

But I think people are
getting to their wit's
end with this violence.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Mitch Borden
of Marfa Public Radio, thank
you very much for your time and

for your reporting.

MITCH BORDEN: Thank you.