New information on the Odessa gunman raises questions about the FBI and local police's handling of the case

Greg P. | 1:46 PM on September 03, 2019

We’re beginning to learn more about Odessa gunman Seth Ator, none of it good.

First up, the New York Post reported over the weekend that a neighbor reported Ator to the police for threatening her with a rifle, but cops “couldn’t find his house” so they never followed up. This same neighbor said Ator would also sit on his roof and shoot animals with his rifle:

major police f*** up. https://t.co/bcRxiYWR27 pic.twitter.com/P7wYj2Km5P

— Greg Pollowitz (@GPollowitz) September 2, 2019

Next up, Gov. Gret Abbott tweeted that Ator had “previously failed a gun purchase background check” but it’s not known where he obtained the rifle he used in his murder rampage:

Not only did the Odessa gunman have a criminal history…

…he also previously failed a gun purchase background check in Texas…

…& he didn’t go thru a background check for the gun he used in Odessa.

We must keep guns out of criminals’ hands. https://t.co/vgrqcHtBtF

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) September 2, 2019

Law enforcement confirmed that Ator called both 911 and the FBI after he was fired and before he started shooting people, but they say he never made a specific threat:

The West Texas mass shooter called the FBI national tip line about 15 minutes before his first encounter with troopers and made "rambling statements about some of the atrocities that he felt that he had gone through" https://t.co/H9n7JKbYS7 pic.twitter.com/hdN6L2aSGc

— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 2, 2019