Seth Ator had a history of violence, and it is still not clear what were his motives for the mass shooting that occurred in West Texas.
Although he was deemed mentally unfit to purchase firearms legally, he managed to benefit from a private sale loophole to buy the AR-15 style rifle used in the attack.
A background check is not required in a private sale. The House of Representatives led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi voted in February to close such loophole, but President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have not backed the measure.
According to reports from one of the neighbors of the perpetrator of the recent shooting in Odessa, Texas; the killer already had some issues with his violent behavior and had provoked his neighbors in various ways in the past.
At one point, the man had threatened his neighbor, Veronica Alonzo, with a rifle because she had left trash near his property.
The woman called authorities, but they were, unfortunately, unable to figure out where the man lived.
Afterward, the shooter reportedly started spending many nights sitting atop his home and shooting at animals.
He then went on to retrieve their bodies, but it was not clear what he was doing with them.
Police had tried confronting him after receiving reports of his behavior, but they could not locate his residence as it did not even show up on their GPS.
The man also had a habit of sleeping in his car with the heating on when the weather got cold, as he had no electricity in his home.
The house had no running water either, according to reports. The man had reportedly visited another neighbor with a gun in his hands, although it is not clear why he did that in the first place.
According to the woman from that incident, he owned at least two guns.
Another neighbor named Rocio Gutierrez told the Associated Press that people in the area were afraid of the man’s aggressiveness.
He stated: “We were afraid of him because you could tell what kind of person he was just by looking at him. He was not nice; he was not friendly; he was not polite.”
The 36-year-old mass murderer was eventually taken down by police during his shooting rampage in Odessa, but not before he took the lives of seven people and wounded dozens of others.
He was reportedly on a downward spiral and lost his job the day of the shooting. He used to work at Journey Oilfield Services. The shooter and his former employer both called the FBI after he got fired, complaining about each other’s behavior.
Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke revealed: “Right after that firing, he called 911 … and so did his employer. Basically they were complaining on each other.”
Bureau Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs added: “It was frankly rambling statements about some of the atrocities that he felt he had gone through. He did not make a threat during that phone call.”
Reports are still coming out slowly about the incident.
