Five Years Later: Survivors look forward to memorial dedication

Those injured and affected by the Aug. 31, 2019, mass shooting have daily reminders of that tragic day.

Seven people were killed and 25 injured.

Rosie Granados, twin sister of Mary Granados, Kelby Davis, whose daughter Anderson was injured and Brad Grimsley, all carry the scars — whether it’s literally or metaphorically.

They all plan to be at the Bright Star Memorial Dedication scheduled for 8 p.m. Aug. 29 at the Bright Star Memorial Site on the University of Texas Permian Basin campus off Loop 338. Park next to the sports field to access it.

“I feel the same way as when it just happened. The pain still doesn’t seem to go away and I don’t think it ever will,” Rosie Granados said.

She added that she and her sister were together all the time. She and her mother and other sister were very united.

“My mom has been able to cope with it just because she feels like a part of her is still with her, which would be me. But her spirit lives in our hearts, so that’s what makes us feel a little better,” Rosie said.

The stories they share about Mary also help.

“We’re always talking about her,” she said.

Davis said she and her family are doing well and are planning to attend the dedication. She has twins, Anderson and Rhett, 6, and 1-year-old Maverick, who will be 2 in October. Anderson was hurt in the attack and is now a first grader.

Davis was part of the Bright Star Memorial committee that helped plan the dedication and the sculpture.

“I’m just thankful we’ll be able to share that with the community next week. It will add a healing place in the community… My family will definitely be there.

“One thing I really appreciate about the memorial — yes I think it will be a stunning feature in our community — but I just appreciate the purpose. I feel like it was so purposefully created, with such attention to just making sure that every single little detail shines literal light, but also that metaphorical hope and light on our community,” Davis said.

The memorial is 11 feet high and 5 feet in diameter, Executive Director of Odessa Arts Randy Ham has said. Created by Maryland sculptor Jim Sanborn, it features the names of all those who were killed or injured and reflections from family members.

The sculpture, which will light up at night, will be elevated 20 feet in the air and have a circular entrance path. It also will be ADA accessible.

What’s helped Davis and her family get through is faith in God and the support of the community. The dedication of the memorial is an example of the way the community comes together time and again to support each other. Davis said UTPB has opened its campus to hold the dedication and different people in the community have come together to make this a reality.

“Our family has been so privileged over the last five years to get to work with Children’s Miracle Network. I would say for me as a mom that’s probably been one of the most healing things we could have been a part of because we’ve had an opportunity again and again … almost on a monthly basis, if not more often, to serve through Children’s Miracle Network whether it’s raising funds (or) showing up at different community events to raise awareness. That’s been incredibly healing for my little family because it’s been a way to spread positivity and hope out of something that was so tragic,” Davis said.

She added that so many families had a much more tragic ending to that day than hers.

“It’s truly been an honor to even get to continue being a community advocate, just getting involved with organizations that make a difference like Children’s Miracle Network or working on this committee, the Bright Star Memorial Committee, to share hope and hopefully for many many years to come,” Davis said.

“I do think that’s what personally motivates me as a mom and as an Odessan as I know that my story is very different from the other mamas that day and many other community members that day so I feel honored and a responsibility to tell it and to share it and support it however I can.”

Grimsley, who lives in Mustang, Oklahoma, with his wife, Brenda, said he is planning to attend the dedication.

He said it’s important to him because it’s closure, a reminder, or “all of the above.”

It took him about six months to recover from his injuries.

“I guess we’re doing OK. The counseling that was offered from the FBI, we didn’t use it but we still think about it; we still talk about it. It’s something that stays with you,” Grimsley said.

“If I’m in a conversation with somebody, especially if somebody comes to the house, a contractor or whatever, I tell them the story. I tell them the story because of the seven people that died,” he said.

He tells people to Google it, read about it, understand it and “be thoughtful of it.”

Grimsley said he feels the shooting in Odessa didn’t get as much recognition as others.

“(Texas) Gov. (Greg) Abbott came up to see me, but he missed me because the FBI was in my room. But we didn’t hear anything from Trump or anything like that.

“The City of Odessa has been right there with us, the Chamber of Commerce, they’ve been right there keeping us informed of what’s going on,” Grimsley added.

His wife’s parents live in Pecos, so they travel there every month or so.

“We go through there and we know that the mile marker is there. We know where everything took place,” he said.

He was shot while driving from Oklahoma to Pecos.

He’s glad he will get a chance to see the memorial. He was on the committee that chose the sculptor and has been involved with the design.

“Bright Star is exactly what it is and the City of Odessa and Midland need a bright star. This gives people a place to go to reminisce, remember whatever they do. Even if it’s not about the shooting, they’ve got a place to go,” Grimsley said.

He added that it will also give first responders a place to reflect on what they did that day.

“They’re under the gun all the time, so they may need a release. For me being in the infantry 21 years in the Marine Corps and go scar free and then get shot by a 36-year-old punk out on the street, that’s quite an impact.

“The seven people that lost their lives, you feel sorry for their families and the people that (are) gone, but they need a place to go to reflect and move forward as best as they can. I think the monument will have a lot to help with that,” Grimsley said.

The Grimsleys witnessed gunman Seth Ator shoot DPS Trooper Chuck Pryor. Grimsley was with Pryor at Midland Memorial Hospital, so he got to know him and his family pretty well.

In a 2023 Odessa American article, Grimsley said he believes some policies have been adjusted for better communication between law enforcement.

“You would never think that a small town of Odessa, Midland or anywhere really … that something like that would happen. But you have to prepare for it in today’s day and age. You have to be ready for anything and everything. That’s sad to say because I didn’t grow up like that. When I was a kid I didn’t have that kind of worries, my parents didn’t … These are people off the street; random,” Grimsley said.

He said he was driving 104 mph when he was shot. He said Ator was drafting him.

“I let him draft me and then I knew because the wife was in prayer for Pryor because she saw him bleeding. My wife was in prayer with her sister. She broke prayer and she looked back behind her and saw that Seth was behind us. I knew at that point what he was about to do. He was out to kill us and so I picked up my speed, my wife tried to get up there and take a picture. She couldn’t do it, but saw the weapon sticking between the door lock and the window, you know the frame. I told her to get down. When he got up to the side of … my back door I hit the brake one time and it threw me into a swirl stop and him forward … At the same time, he shot. He shot three rounds. Two of them missed me, one of them got me in the gut, so I told the wife (to) grab the wheel and I manned the brake, parked the car on the side.

“I got out of the car. Seth went on down to do whatever he did after me …,” Grimsley said.

He said there was a state trooper who was the first one to get to him.

“He was all serious and stuff and I looked at him dead in the eye and I said to him I never thought that I would be so intimate with a state trooper in my life. I … got him to smile. I raised my hand and said Semper Fi and off I went. I was in the hospital in about six minutes from the time everybody got there in Midland. All the first responders for me were great. It’s just if you look at the final state trooper report and you look at the time frame on when everything started to the first person getting shot, which is officer Pryor, how in the world did officer Pryor and his partner not know that that guy was hot? That’s the biggest question I’ve always come up with.

“I got a flag, a letter of bravery and a letter of apology from the state of Texas. I hung it on my wall and that’s where it’s at right now. Hanging on the wall.

“I get reminded every day.”

If you go

• What: Bright Star Memorial Dedication.
• When: 8 p.m. Aug. 29.
• Where: Bright Star Memorial Site on the UTPB campus off Loop 338. Park next to the sports field to access it.

The Victims

DECEASED

• Leilah Hernandez, 15, Odessa.
• Joe Griffith, 40, Odessa.
• Mary Granados, 29, Odessa.
• Edwin Peregrino, 25, Odessa.
• Rodolfo Julio Arco, 57, Odessa.
• Kameron Karltess Brown, 30, Brownwood.
• Raul Garcia, 35, El Paso.

1 of 7

INJURED

• Nathan Hernandez, 18, Odessa.
• Marc Gonzales, 38, Odessa.
• Zachary Owens, Midland Police Department.
• Timmothy Beard, 55, San Antonio.
• James Santana, Odessa Police Department.
• Glenda Dempsy, 62, Odessa.
• Marco Corral, 62, San Diego, CA.
• Coy Edge, 53, Odessa.
• Joseph Glide, 60, Odessa.
• Anderson Davis, 17 months, Odessa.
• Daniel Munoz, 28, Yuma, AZ.
• Robert Cavasoz, 38, Alice, TX.
• Maria Boado, 27, Haileah, FL.
• Efe Obayagbona, 45, Round Rock, TX.
• Bradley Grimsley, 64, Clarksville, TX.
• Chuck Pryor, Texas Department of Public Safety.
• Timmothy Hardaway, 54, Brownwood.
• Quadri Fatai, 41, Houston.
• Jesus Alvidrez, 21, Gardendale.
• Lilia Diaz, 46, Odessa.
• Krystal Lee, 36, Odessa.
• Larry Shores, 34, Abilene.
• Coltyn Reyenga, 9, Odessa.
• Penny Moore, 55, Odessa.
• Wanda Silvas, 74, Odessa.

Five Years Later: Odessa’s dark day remembered