Officials refused to say the name of the gunman involved in the west Texas shooting out loud during a press conference Sunday.

Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke began the update by noting that the investigation into the shooting that left seven dead and 22 injured is still active and ongoing.

“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.





The suspect has thus far only been identified as a white male in his mid-30s. Despite refusing to name the shooter during the public press conference, Gerke said information on his identity would be disclosed to the press.

“We’ll provide that information to you, but not on this public space,” the chief said.

The shooting occurred on Saturday afternoon in and around the cities of Odessa and Midland, Texas. Initially, it was thought that there were two suspects, although authorities said during the press conference that there was only one gunman, who was killed.