Odessa Police Chief Refuses to Use Shooter’s Name at Press Conference

Yesterday, a white man in his thirties went on a shooting spree in Odessa and Midland, Texas, after he was subjected to a traffic stop.  Officers killed the shooter after a pursuit. The shooting left seven dead and 22 injured, including three law enforcement officers.

This is horrifying and tragic.

Today, Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke gave a press conference on the ongoing investigation, during which he refused to state the shooter’s name.

“There are still multiple crime scenes that are being worked.  There are no definitive answers as to motive or reasons at this point.  But we are fairly certain that the subject did act alone,” Gerke, who was accompanied by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said.  “You’ll notice that I’m not naming the subject, and there’s a reason for that.  I refuse to.”

“I’m not going to give him any notoriety for what he did,” he added.

Good for Chief Gerke.  There’s no reason to make mass murderers like this creep famous, especially since he’s no longer at large.  Several media outlets and journalists make a point of refusing to use shooters’ names.  I’d like to see that trend grow.  Let’s focus on the victims, rather than give the perpetrators their 15 minutes of fame.

Of course, the shooter’s identity will still be provided to the press.  The Wall Street Journal has already released his name (I won’t repeat it here).  I think it’s important that the investigation look into the shooter’s motive, but I hope Chief Gerke’s public refusal to identify him helps defuse some of the morbid public scrutiny of every available detail of the shooter’s life.