What Happened in Midland on June 12, 2026 — And Why the Shooter’s Death Does Not End the Lawsuit
If you are reading this from a hospital room at Midland Memorial, from a kitchen table in Odessa, from a hotel room where you have been relocated, or from the home of a city employee who did not come home Friday morning — we are sorry for what your family is carrying. We are the trial team at Attorney911 — The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC — and we have built this page for the single reason of telling you what the next weeks and months actually look like, in Texas law, with Texas deadlines, against the specific defendants who can be held accountable.
Here is the timeline as confirmed by the Midland Police Department and reported by the Texas Tribune. On Wednesday, June 10, 2026, Victor Mata Villarreal, age 45, of Odessa, was stopped by Midland police. During the stop he fired a rifle at the officer. The officer was not struck. Villarreal fled on foot after abandoning his vehicle. Despite a 48-hour manhunt, he was not located. On Friday, June 12, at approximately 8 a.m., Villarreal opened fire on the south side of Midland near Beal Park and the Scharbauer Sports Complex — an area lined with hotels, a convention center, and recreational facilities adjacent to Interstate 20. A stay-in-place order was issued. The city confirmed city employee Ed Scott was killed. Ten other people were wounded. Midland Memorial Hospital reported four victims underwent surgery, three were treated and released, and two others were in stable condition. After a multi-hour standoff in which Villarreal barricaded himself inside a building, drones and a robot were used to confirm his death at approximately 11:30 a.m.
Two things must be said plainly. First, Villarreal was a previously convicted felon. State records show a 2009 conviction in San Angelo for unlawfully carrying a firearm, plus prior charges in 2003 and 2004 that were dismissed. Under federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), a person convicted of a qualifying offense may not lawfully possess a firearm — meaning the weapon Villarreal carried on Wednesday and Friday should never have reached his hands through a lawful channel. Second, a 48-hour active manhunt was underway when the Friday attack occurred. That manhunt is not background. It is the central factual question of who had the duty to do more, and when.
Who We Are When You Call — And What the Consultation Costs You
Attorney911 — The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC — has represented Texas families since 2001. The firm was founded by Ralph Manginello, a trial lawyer with more than 27 years in courtrooms, including federal trial practice in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Ralph is a member of the Cheshire Academy Athletic Hall of Fame (2021), a former journalist, and the author of more than 290 educational videos for Texas families. Working beside him is Lupe Peña, a third-generation Texan who spent years inside a national insurance defense firm before joining our team — meaning she has sat in the rooms where adjusters and their software decided how to discount a gunshot victim’s pain. She now runs that playbook in reverse, and she serves families fully in Spanish. Hablamos Español.
The consultation is free. It is confidential. It costs nothing to learn whether you have a claim, and we work on contingency — you owe no fee unless we recover for your family. Our Houston office is at 1177 West Loop South, Ste. 1600. Our phone is 1-888-ATTY-911, or (713) 528-9070, answered 24 hours a day. You can also reach us through our contact page.
Who Can Be Sued When a Fugitive Commits a Mass Shooting in Texas
A common misperception is that the shooter’s death ends the case. It does not. Texas law allows claims against a deceased wrongdoer’s estate, and — far more important — Texas law allows claims against every party whose negligence helped the violence reach your family. Based on the facts confirmed as of June 12, 2026, we see four categories of potentially liable parties.
The Estate of Victor Mata Villarreal. An intentional tortfeasor’s estate can be sued for wrongful death and survival damages. The estate’s assets — any insurance, any property, any accounts — are reachable. While individual estates are often thin, the existence of a prior 2009 felony conviction opens additional channels, including potential claims against whoever placed the rifle in his hands.
Commercial Property Owners Near Beal Park. Hotels, the convention center, and adjacent businesses in the Scharbauer corridor owed a duty of reasonable care to invitees. Under Texas premises liability law, that duty includes protecting guests from foreseeable criminal acts when the risk is knowable. A 48-hour active manhunt for a fugitive who had just shot at a police officer is the textbook definition of a knowable, foreseeable risk. Whether those properties locked appropriate entrances, posted security, monitored the manhunt, or coordinated with the Midland Police Department is exactly the discovery we will pursue.
The City of Midland. Sovereign immunity does not mean the city is untouchable. The Texas Tort Claims Act (TTCA), codified at Chapter 101 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, waives immunity in narrow circumstances — including the negligent use of motor-driven equipment or tangible property by city employees. The TTCA caps municipal liability at $250,000 per person. That cap is real, but it does not eliminate the claim; it shapes how we value and structure it.
Third-Party Gun Sellers and Providers. If the rifle Villarreal used was obtained through straw purchase or negligent entrustment — particularly given his 2009 federal-prohibiting conviction — those who supplied the weapon face potential civil liability. Federal investigators may also pursue criminal exposure under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g).
Negligent Security on Commercial Property Near Beal Park
Texas recognizes negligent security as a premises-liability cause of action. To win, your family must prove four things: (1) the property owner owed a duty to the victim, (2) the duty was breached, (3) the breach proximately caused the injury, and (4) damages resulted. The fight almost always lives in the first two elements — duty and breach.
Duty in a negligent-security case turns on foreseeability. Texas courts ask whether the criminal act was foreseeable at the time and place of the attack. Several facts make foreseeability unusually strong here. First, the 2019 Midland-Odessa mass shooting killed seven and wounded 25 less than 25 miles from this location — a fact any commercial property owner in the Scharbauer corridor cannot credibly claim ignorance of. Second, the 48-hour active manhunt was public knowledge, broadcast across West Texas media and on the city’s own channels. Third, the attack occurred in a high-density commercial and recreational zone — hotels, a convention center, Beal Park — where transient invitees have no ability to assess the danger themselves.
Breach is the second fight. We will demand the security logs, the camera footage, the staffing schedules, the key-card records, and the communications between property managers and the Midland Police Department during the manhunt. We will retain security experts — former federal and local law enforcement — to testify about the standard of care for a high-traffic commercial corridor during an active manhunt for a rifle-armed fugitive. We will compare what was done against what the industry guidance required. Where the gap is wide, breach is established.
The Texas Tort Claims Act and the City of Midland
Suing a city is not like suing a person. The Texas Tort Claims Act creates a limited waiver of sovereign immunity — a permission slip from the legislature allowing certain claims to proceed where they would otherwise be barred. Chapter 101 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code sets out exactly when the city can be sued and exactly when it cannot.
Two TTCA exceptions may apply here. First, the negligent use of motor-driven equipment or tangible property by a city employee. If a police vehicle, a dispatch system, a radio, a barrier, or another piece of city equipment was used negligently during the Wednesday escape or the Friday response, the TTCA waiver may attach. Second, claims arising from a condition of tangible property — for example, if a city-owned building, fence, or lock failed in a way that contributed to the harm.
The municipal cap under the TTCA is $250,000 per person. That number is the ceiling on what a jury can award against the city itself in a single claim. It does not cap claims against the Villarreal estate, against commercial property owners, or against third-party gun providers — those defendants have their own insurance and their own exposure. The TTCA cap shapes the litigation strategy: it pushes us to identify and pursue solvent defendants aggressively while still preserving the city claim as part of a complete accountability picture.
Wrongful Death and Survival Claims Under Texas Law
Texas allows two distinct claims when a person dies from a violent act, and the families of Ed Scott should understand both.
A wrongful death claim is brought by the surviving spouse, children, or parents of the deceased for their own losses. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 71, beneficiaries are strictly limited to the immediate family — spouse, children, and parents. Siblings and extended relatives cannot bring a wrongful death claim in Texas, no matter how close the relationship. Recoverable damages include pecuniary loss (the financial support the deceased would have provided), mental anguish, loss of companionship and society, loss of services, and loss of inheritance. For Ed Scott’s surviving spouse and any children, this is the claim that captures the future that was taken.
A survival action is brought by the estate of the deceased for the losses the deceased personally suffered before death — physical pain, mental anguish, and medical expenses incurred before passing. The survival claim belongs to the estate, not the family directly, but the recovery passes through the estate to the heirs. It is the claim that holds the wrongdoer accountable for the suffering Ed Scott endured between being shot and being pronounced.
Exemplary damages — Texas’s term for punitive damages — are available against the Villarreal estate under Chapter 41 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code if we can prove by clear and convincing evidence that the harm resulted from malice. Given a Wednesday shooting at an officer followed by a Friday mass shooting in a public corridor, the malice element is provable. Exemplary damages exist to punish and deter, and they are the family’s lever against an estate that may otherwise have limited assets.
The 48-Hour Manhunt and the Evidence That Will Disappear
If your family acts in the next 30 days, you can still preserve the evidence that decides these cases. If you wait, the case decides itself — and it decides against you.
Surveillance footage is the single most time-sensitive item. Hotels, the convention center, and surrounding businesses overwrite digital video on cycles that typically run 7 to 14 days. Some overwrite in 72 hours. Some store only motion-activated clips. By mid-July 2026, much of the video of Villarreal’s approach, his entry point, and his path to the barricade building may be gone forever unless preservation letters have already been served.
Police dispatch and radio logs are the second race. Standard administrative retention periods apply, but spoliation letters to the Midland Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Texas Rangers lock the records in place. These logs establish exactly what was known, when it was known, and what was broadcast to the public during the manhunt.
Bodycam and dashcam footage from the Wednesday traffic stop and the Friday standoff is third. Bodycam evidence is often retained under departmental policy but is subject to overwrite and redaction schedules. We send immediate preservation demands to every agency that responded — Midland PD, DPS, Ector County if cross-jurisdictional assets deployed, and any federal partners.
Building security and maintenance logs — particularly from the barricade site — are fourth. Did locks function? Were cameras operational? Was access controlled? Physical records must be secured before routine purges.
Suspect electronic devices — phone, computer, any cloud accounts — are fifth. Law enforcement will image these for the criminal investigation, but civil discovery can reach the same evidence. We move quickly to ensure parallel civil preservation.
The Damages: What the Families Are Actually Fighting For
Damages in a Midland shooting case break into three buckets, and each bucket is fought separately.
Economic damages cover the measurable money. For Ed Scott’s family: his salary, benefits, pension contributions, and the support he would have provided. For the ten survivors: every medical bill already incurred, every future surgery, every rehabilitation session, every day of lost work, and — for those with permanent impairment — the lifetime cost of care. Four surgical patients alone will generate seven-figure medical expenses before the first rehabilitation bill arrives.
Non-economic damages cover what money cannot precisely measure but Texas juries are instructed to recognize: physical pain, mental anguish, disfigurement, physical impairment, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium for spouses. These damages often exceed economic damages in catastrophic-injury cases, particularly where gunshot wounds create permanent scarring, chronic pain, or psychological injury.
Punitive damages are the third bucket, and they are aimed at punishing the Villarreal estate for malice. They are not capped in Texas against private defendants the way they are against the city.
The realistic case-value range, given the facts confirmed to date, runs from approximately $1,000,000 on the low end — reflecting the difficulty of collecting from an individual estate and the statutory cap on city liability — to $25,000,000 on the high end, assuming a consolidated action against a solvent commercial defendant for negligent security with strong surviving evidence. The exact number in any given case depends on the evidence we are able to preserve, the strength of the foreseeability proof, and the insurance available behind each defendant.
The Insurance Playbook: What the City and Property Insurers Will Do
By the time you read this, an adjuster has likely called. The voice is warm. The tone is sympathetic. The questions feel reasonable. Every word of that conversation is being evaluated to discount your claim.
Here is the playbook as it actually runs. Within 48 hours of a mass casualty event, the city’s insurer, the hotel and convention center insurers, and any commercial liability carriers assign a team. A recorded statement is requested — politely, framed as routine, sometimes offered with a small immediate payment “to help with expenses.” The first offer is always before the medical picture is complete, because a fast settlement is the cheapest settlement. Independent medical examinations are scheduled with doctors friendly to the carrier. Surveillance begins on survivors who post on social media. Social media is mined for anything usable. A Colossus-style software evaluation is run to score the claim and produce a low opening number.
You counter this playbook by doing three things. First, do not give a recorded statement to any insurer — city, commercial, or otherwise — without counsel present. Second, do not post about the case, your injuries, or your activities on any social media platform. Third, route every call through your attorney so the conversation becomes a negotiation, not a fishing expedition. Our guide on what you should never say to an insurance adjuster walks through the specific phrases and traps.
The 2019 Midland-Odessa Shooting and the “Foreseeable” Question
On August 31, 2019, a gunman killed seven people and wounded 25 — including three law enforcement officers — in a shooting rampage that began in Midland and continued into Odessa. An 11-foot-tall monument to the victims and survivors was erected in 2024. That prior attack is not a coincidence in this litigation. It is a foundation.
Texas negligent-security law asks what the property owner knew or should have known about the risk of violent crime at the location. When a mass shooting of almost identical character occurred seven years earlier in the same metropolitan area, on the same highway corridor, against the same population — the argument that the risk was unforeseeable collapses. The 2019 attack put every commercial property owner in the Permian Basin on notice that high-traffic corridors adjacent to Interstate 20 could be targeted. The 48-hour manhunt preceding the June 12 attack amplified that notice to a level no jury can ignore.
What to Do in the First 72 Hours After the Midland Shooting
If you or a family member was injured, killed, or present near Beal Park on June 12, 2026, the next three days shape everything that follows.
Preserve everything you have. Do not delete text messages, photos, or videos. Save voicemails. Keep the clothing you were wearing. Photograph your injuries as they heal — progression photos are powerful evidence. Write down everything you remember while you remember it, including the names of anyone you saw, what you heard, and how you escaped or were rescued.
Get medical documentation for every injury, including the ones that feel minor. Gunshot trauma creates injuries that surface weeks later — soft tissue damage, hearing loss, psychological injury, internal complications. A medical record created today is a legal anchor tomorrow.
Do not give a recorded statement to any insurance adjuster. The city of Midland will have an insurer. The hotels will have insurers. The convention center will have an insurer. Each of them will call you. Refer every call to us.
Do not post about the case on social media. Insurance carriers monitor public posts for anything usable to discount a claim.
Identify witnesses while contact information is fresh. Other survivors, bystanders, hotel guests, employees — their statements become evidence.
Call us before you sign anything. 1-888-ATTY-911. (713) 528-9070. The consultation is free, confidential, and 24/7.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Midland Shooting Lawsuits
Can we sue the city of Midland if our family member was killed? Yes, but through the Texas Tort Claims Act’s narrow waiver. Chapter 101 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code allows claims where motor-driven equipment or tangible property was negligently used, and where conditions of property contributed to the harm. Recovery against the city is capped at $250,000 per person. We pursue the city claim alongside every other available defendant so the cap does not define your family’s recovery.
Can we sue the shooter’s estate even though he is dead? Yes. Texas law permits wrongful death and survival claims against a deceased tortfeasor’s estate. The estate’s assets — insurance policies, property, accounts — are reachable. Exemplary damages under Chapter 41 are available where malice is proven by clear and convincing evidence, and the facts here support that standard.
What is negligent security and how do we prove it? Negligent security is a premises-liability theory holding a property owner responsible when inadequate security allows a foreseeable criminal act to harm an invitee. We prove it by establishing the property owner’s duty, the breach of that duty, the foreseeability of the attack, and the resulting damages. The 2019 Midland-Odessa shooting and the 48-hour active manhunt are central to the foreseeability argument.
Who can bring a wrongful death claim in Texas? Under Chapter 71 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, only the surviving spouse, children, and parents of the deceased may bring a wrongful death claim. Siblings, grandparents, cousins, and friends cannot file, regardless of how close the relationship. A survival action is brought by the estate for the deceased’s pre-death suffering and passes through to the heirs.
What if our loved one was a city employee killed on the job? Workers’ compensation may apply, but it typically does not bar a third-party claim against non-employer defendants. The commercial property owners, the gun providers, and (within TTCA limits) the city itself remain potential defendants. We coordinate every available channel so compensation is not left on the table.
How long do we have to file? Texas generally allows two years from the date of death for a wrongful death claim and two years for a survival action, but TTCA claims against a city require formal notice within strict deadlines that are far shorter. Do not wait. The notice clock starts now.
What if the survivor was only slightly injured? Any physical injury caused by a gunshot or by the chaos of an active shooter event — bruises, hearing damage, psychological injury, lacerations — supports a claim. The severity of the injury affects damages, not the right to bring the case.
Will the case go to trial? Many cases settle before trial, but the insurers settle for more when they know the plaintiff’s lawyer is prepared to try the case in front of a Midland County jury. Our firm prepares every case as if it will be tried, and that preparation is what produces full-value settlements.
How much does it cost to hire Attorney911? Nothing upfront. We work on contingency — you owe no attorney fee unless we recover for your family. The consultation is free and confidential. If we do not win, you owe us nothing for our time.
Do you serve Spanish-speaking families? Yes. Lupe Peña leads our Spanish-language practice and serves families fully in Spanish. Hablamos Español. Your family can communicate in the language where you think most clearly, and every document and conversation is handled with full linguistic care.
Why Attorney911 — The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC — Is Built for Cases Like This
Mass casualty litigation is not a single specialty — it is the combination of several. Premises liability. Wrongful death. Insurance coverage disputes. Sovereign immunity work. Federal firearms exposure. Evidence preservation under tight deadlines. Trial against institutional defendants with unlimited defense budgets. Our firm has practiced in every one of those areas for more than two decades, and we have built the team to run them together.
Ralph Manginello has spent more than 27 years in Texas courtrooms, including federal trial practice. His background as a journalist trained him to find facts the other side hoped would stay buried. His background as a championship-team point guard trained him to perform under pressure. He has recovered more than $50 million for Texas families since 1998 [firm-stated]. He carries an Avvo rating of 8.2 with Client’s Choice recognition, and Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating since 2018. He was inducted into the Cheshire Academy Athletic Hall of Fame in 2021.
Lupe Peña knows the insurance defense playbook because she lived inside it. She spent years at a national insurance defense firm, in the rooms where claims are coded, valued, and discounted. She now uses that knowledge to dismantle the same playbook for Texas families. Fluent in Spanish. Born and raised in Texas. Third-generation Texan with King Ranch roots.
Our recent marquee litigation includes Bermudez v. Pi Kappa Phi / University of Houston, a $10 million-plus hazing and personal injury case filed in Harris County in November 2025, covered by KHOU-11, Houston Public Media, KENS5, and KPRC. Results in any case depend on the unique facts of that case, and past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
You can learn more about our team on our attorneys page, about Ralph on his individual profile, and about Lupe on her individual profile. Our wrongful death practice overview explains how we approach cases like Ed Scott’s, and our insurance claim practice explains how we handle the carrier side. For survivors with brain injuries or significant trauma, our brain injury practice and our guide to brain injury lawsuits outline what those claims involve.
Your Next Step
If your family is one of the families touched by the Midland shooting — Ed Scott’s family, the ten wounded, the witnesses, the hotel guests, the Beal Park visitors caught in the morning of June 12 — call us before you do anything else. The evidence clock is running. The notice clock for the city is shorter than you think. And the insurance adjuster will call within days.
1-888-ATTY-911. (713) 528-9070. Hablamos Español. The consultation is free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day. You can also reach us through our contact page or learn more about our firm at attorney911.com.
This page is legal information, not legal advice for your specific case. Every case turns on its own facts, and the only way to know what your family is entitled to is to speak with a lawyer about the details of what happened to you. Calling us does not create an attorney-client relationship; that relationship is created only after a written agreement is signed.