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Neighbors react to officer-involved shooting in Odessa

"It’s close to home. You don’t really expect that to happen here."

ODESSA, Texas — Residents in the south Odessa neighborhood near Mable St. and Sam Houston Ave. say hearing gunshots is pretty common where they live.

However, it is not common for there to be an officer involved shooting that puts two people in the hospital. 

Erbei Uranga, a nearby neighbor, woke up to the gunshots. 

"You could just hear some type of gun shot go off and I started looking outside and I saw the sirens and that’s when I came outside to check it out," Uranga said. 

In any community, waking up to gunshots can be a jarring experience. And in the house across the street, three young sisters were home alone.

“I got a call from my 11-year-old while I was at the gym. She was crying and scared," Vicky Estrada, nearby neighbor and mom of three said. "She was crying scared, telling me she had heard gunshots and thought somebody was at the door, so I immediately came home.”

Leslie Estrada, Vicky's 11-year-old daughter, says she heard dogs barking, gun shots and sirens.

While some neighbors thought the noise was fireworks, others realized the danger of the situation.

“I knew they weren’t fireworks because I saw police lights. I was just a little bit scared. Actually I was really scared,” Leslie said. “My big sister came into the room with us and she started to get the bat and we started to get prepared."

Vicky is just glad her three girls are okay. “It’s scary because it’s just two houses down,” Vicky said.

Uranga says he is in shock this happened. 

“It’s so close to home, you don’t really expect that to happen here. I know all the neighbors here," Uranga said. 

The neighbors NewsWest 9 spoke with did not know the neighbor whose house was where the shooting occurred.

Police have not released whether the man lived in this area or not but residents nearby are taking precaution. 

"It's very scary. I don't think I'll be able to let them play outside anymore," Vicky said. 

Vicky, along with other neighbors who have children, say they are going to play it safe and keep there children inside until the Texas Rangers wrap up the investigation and get some answers. 

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