Book of D: City of Midland Employee, Ed Scott

His name was Ed Scott, any of us could have easily been in his shoes: In the wrong place - at the wrong time. Scott was an employee for the city of Midland. He was a popular and beloved umpire for the local and regional softball organization. He was starting off the day, work at the helm, just minding his own business when Victor Mata Villarreal (Odessa, Texas) began his standoff against the local police department. Villarreal was wanted in the attempted murder, just two days prior (June 11th), of an MPD officer who had stopped Villarreal on a routine traffic stop when the antagonist reached for his rifle and shot at the officer as he took off in his vehicle. Two days later, June 12th, officers found Villarreal but he managed to evade law enforcement and hid out in an abandoned veterinary building. It was there that Villarreal stood his ground and egregiously began his stance against law enforcement and anyone who happened to be within shooting range. Sadly, Ed Scott was one of eleven victims that Villarreal's dastardly stand-off managed to reach. However, Scott was the only person who fatally succumbed to his wounds.

There has been a large outpour of love and support for Scott's wife and family. The City of Midland is mourning one of their own while the softball community is doing the same. I didn't know Scott personally, but I knew of him. He was a stand-up guy. He didn't deserve what happened to him as he was starting his daily routine on that fateful day. None of the survivors deserved to be victims of Villarreal, but life deemed it so. The reasons, we'll never really know. All we can do is bear down, remain vigilant of our surroundings, and be more cognizant of the Texas Active Shooter Alert (TASA) program. The TASA program, a.k.a. Leila Hernandez Act, which alerts citizens via cell phones within a certain parameter of an active shooting incident, was utilized on Friday morning. I believe the program saved many lives. I live in a nearby neighborhood, so my family and I all received the TASA alerts and sheltered in place. I wish Ed Scott could have been spared. My heart breaks for his life taken much too soon and much too violently and for his wife and family. Rest in peace, Ed Scott. Rest in peace!