Saul Villa

Mass Murderer

Saul Villa and the 2026 Seth Ward Mass Shooting

Overview of the Shooting

Saul Villa was identified by the Texas Department of Public Safety as the assailant responsible for a mass shooting that left four other people dead in the Seth Ward community near Plainview, Texas. The violence occurred during the early morning hours of February 7, 2026, inside or near a residence in the 2700 block of Upchurch Street. Villa, who was 33 years old, was also found dead at the scene. The shooting claimed the lives of Hector Alonso Sanchez, Tanya Paola Valadez Rangel, Rosalba Saenz Rodriguez and Reily Joseph Zavala Barrientos. Three of the victims died at the residence, while Barrientos was transported to a hospital with serious injuries and later died. Including Villa, five people lost their lives in the incident.

The Early-Morning Attack

At approximately 3:40 a.m. on Saturday, February 7, 2026, the Hale County Sheriff's Office requested assistance from the Texas Rangers following reports of a shooting at the Upchurch Street residence. The home was located in Seth Ward, an unincorporated neighborhood immediately north of Plainview in the Texas Panhandle. When law-enforcement officers and emergency personnel arrived, they discovered four adults dead at the scene. Those individuals were 28-year-old Hector Alonso Sanchez, 30-year-old Tanya Paola Valadez Rangel, 47-year-old Rosalba Saenz Rodriguez and 33-year-old Saul Villa. A fifth person, 21-year-old Reily Joseph Zavala Barrientos, was still alive after the shooting. Emergency responders transported him to Covenant Hospital-Plainview, also identified in local reporting as Covenant Health Plainview. Despite medical efforts, Barrientos died from his injuries. Investigators subsequently determined that Villa had been the shooter. Because Villa died during the same incident, no arrest or criminal prosecution followed. Authorities did not immediately release detailed information explaining the sequence in which the victims were shot, the type of firearm used, or precisely where each person was found inside or around the residence.

Victims

• Hector Alonso Sanchez, 28 Killed on February 7, 2026, at the residence in the 2700 block of Upchurch Street in Seth Ward near Plainview, Texas. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
• Tanya Paola Valadez Rangel, 30 Killed on February 7, 2026, at the Upchurch Street residence in Seth Ward. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
• Rosalba Saenz Rodriguez, 47 Killed on February 7, 2026, at the same residence in the Seth Ward community. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
• Reily Joseph Zavala Barrientos, 21 Shot on February 7, 2026, at the Upchurch Street residence. He was taken to Covenant Hospital-Plainview, where he later died from his injuries.

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Confirmed Victims: (5)

Hector Alonso Sanchez 28 yr old Male

5 dead, including suspect, in mass shooting at rural Texas Panhandle ...