ODESSA, Texas (Nexstar) — “We’re going to be there for you.” That’s the message the staff at a West Texas Walmart location want to share with the community after a deadly mass-shooting in Odessa, Texas.
Employees at Walmart #3645 dropped off water, sport drinks, and sandwiches for investigators who have spent hours combing through evidence after a gunman killed at least seven people and hurt more than 20 others.
“We wanted to make sure that everybody knew that in this tragic time that we are always together,” assistant manager Pauline Madrid. “We are one community and we want to show that we are still here and that we’re going to help them in any way they can.”
Madrid said the incident has traumatized some of her associates.
“I have a lot of scared associates,” she said. “This is their families, and we’re there for them. We opened the doors for them. We’re taking all the precautions.”
Madrid said authorities locked down the Walmart temporarily during their pursuit of the suspected gunman.
Saturday’s shooting comes less than a month after a deadly shooting at a Walmart in El Paso. That weighs heavily on the minds of employees in Odessa’s Walmart #3645.
“We have a counselor at our store right now that’s talking to any associate if they want to regardless of it’s Midland, Odessa, El Paso, we’re there for them,” she said.
