Hospital picks up medical expenses for West Texas mass shooting victims
In August, a gunman went on a shooting spree in West Texas killing seven people and wounding 25 others. Now, a local hospital will be covering the unpaid charges of all 14 of the shooting victims it treated.
Medical Center Health System (MCHS) in Odessa announced on Tuesday that its Ector County Hospital District’s board of directors approved absorbing all hospital charges for direct victims of the mass shooting.
“The MCHS Board of Directors wanted to make sure that none of the victims experience any medical financial burdens from this horrible situation,” MCHS President and CEO Russell Tippin said in statement.
The hospital will be covering the charges not covered by the victims’ insurance. Tippin said he wouldn’t be surprised if the amount surpasses $500,000.
“MCHS is a partner with our community and we want the victims to know we care about them and pray for their continued recovery,” said Tippin.
On August 31, a gunman went on a shooting spree through the streets of West Texas. The suspect was pulled over by police in Midland when the rampage started. He then fled the scene in his vehicle shooting at random residents and motorists, police said.
The man hijacked a postal service truck and continued shooting at people as he made his way into Odessa about 20 miles away. Police confronted him in a movie theater parking lot and killed him in a shootout.
Seven people were killed ranging in ages between 15 and 57. Among the victims were a man who left Las Vegas after the 2017 shooting there, a US mail carrier whose vehicle was hijacked by a gunman and an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan.
