Amarillo Police Department officials raised concerns eight years ago about the mental stability of the man who killed seven people in Odessa last month.
As CNN reports, the mother of then 28-year-old Seth Ator called Amarillo authorities in 2011, after her son had refused to take his mental health medication.
When officers arrived at the woman’s Amarillo house, they found that the Ator had dug a shelter in the backyard and had threatened to kill his mother.
In a recording shared with police by the mother, the shooter proclaimed, “911 will bow down before me.”
Police were so concerned that they shared their findings with the Amarillo SWAT team, in case Ator should become violent.
The 2011 incident in Amarillo was one of at least a dozen interactions Texas law enforcement had with the Ator, who had also been hospitalized for a suicide attempt.
Nevertheless, through a private sale in Lubbock, Ator was able to obtain the weapon he used to murder seven people.