ODESSA, Texas — Ector County Sheriff Mike Griffis provided an update to the shooting Saturday night that left one hospitalized and another dead.
The shooting occurred at Pat's Place, a lounge off of Highway 385. The shooter, 41-year-old Nicholas James Thompson, shot two men around 11 p.m. and eventually surrendered to authorities the following morning.
Gang ties were rumored to be a part of why the shooting occurred. Griffis, however, says the shooting may not have anything to do with gangs.
“We do not believe that the shooting, at this time, was tied to any specific gang problem, or a beef between gangs or anything like that,” Griffis said.
The shooter is not assumed to have had a history with either of the two victims, meaning the incident sprang from a random occurrence.
An argument may have escalated tensions which led to the gunfire.
"It could just be a problem that arose from the bar," Griffin said. "When these individuals went into the bars and you know that, everyone knows that tempers flare a little hotter when you’re in there drinking a cold beer and it don’t work out for some folks."
Despite the arrest of Thompson, an investigation is still ongoing.
"We are reaching out to other individuals right now, potential witnesses, to see, to make sure that we get everyone’s story and get it recorded and put it in the report so that we can make sure that we got our I’s dotted and our T’s crossed," Griffis said.
Thompson is still being held in prison on a $350K bond. He is facing murder charges of the first degree, which could result in up to 99 years in prison if he is convicted.