West Odessa Shootout Finally Ends

It was a long weekend for local and statewide law enforcement...as a shootout in West Odessa lasted nearly 24 hours. It all started around 4 pm Friday, but didn't end until Saturday afternoon. Dozens of agencies from across the state got involved...after a resident of West Odessa opened fire on law enforcement officers.

Victor White lives near University Boulevard in West Odessa. On Friday, two Ector County Sheriff's Deputies walked onto Whites property with another man...and that's when the shooting began.

"They went down there to talk to him. When they approached him, at some point there was a confrontation. They started to leave, he pulled a gun and started shooting, hit my deputy three times, and hit the citizen one time," Mark Donaldson, Ector County Sheriff, said.

That was at 4 pm. Hours later the shooting continued, and the Ector County Sheriff's Office had to call for backup.

"We had people coming all the way from Austin to help us out with this thing...from San Antonio, El Paso, everywhere, and all the local agencies," Donaldson said.

"Anytime we go into a situation like this...we're going to go in being prepared, understanding that there's a possibility that there's booby traps. There's a possibility that we're dealing with high-powered rifles of that nature. So we're going to take all the precautions that we can instead of just rushing in there," DPS Trooper John Barton said.

DPS took over tactical command and eventually called in the SWAT team. Shots were fired back and forth all night long and into Saturday morning. Then, in the early hours of Saturday afternoon...black smoke began to billow from Whites property, but it wasn't law enforcement that set the fire.

"We know he started one fire. He set something on fire on the porch. As far as the rest of it...how it started, we don't know," Donaldson said.

Finally, after 22 hours of shooting, there was a peaceful end to a not-so-peaceful day.

"Victor White has been taken into custody. He's transported by ambulance to the hospital," Donaldson said.

"He came out and he surrendered. And that's...basically when we go into a situation like this...that's what we hope for. We want the individual to give up," Barton said.

White was taken to the Midland County Detention Center to avoid any issues. He's charged with two counts of attempted capital murder of a peace officer, and aggravated assault of a public servant. One of the deputies that was shot has already been released from the hospital. The other one remains in stable condition.