The Maui News - Weekender

Authoritie­s: Texas man shoots 2 migrants near Mexico border

- By PAUL J. WEBER

AUSTIN, Texas — Two brothers — including one who has been a warden at a detention center that has housed immigrants — have been arrested in Texas after authoritie­s say one of them opened fire on a group of migrants getting water near the U.S.-Mexico border, killing one man and shooting a woman in the stomach.

The shooting happened Tuesday in rural Hudspeth County about 90 miles from El Paso, according to court documents filed Thursday. The woman was taken to a hospital in El Paso where she was recovering, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

DPS said the victims were among a group of migrants standing alongside the road getting water when a truck with two men inside pulled over. According to court documents, the group had taken cover as the truck first passed to avoid being detected, but the truck then backed up.

Michael Sheppard and Mark Sheppard, both 60, were charged with manslaught­er, according to court documents. It was not clear whether either man had an attorney and no contact informatio­n could immediatel­y be found Thursday.

Records show that Michael Sheppard was a warden at the

West Texas Detention Facility, a privately owned center that has housed migrant detainees. A spokeswoma­n for U.S. Immigratio­n and Customs Enforcemen­t told The Associated Press that no immigratio­n detainees had been held at that detention facility since October 2019.

Scott Sutterfiel­d, a spokesman for facility operator Lasalle Correction­s, said Thursday that the center’s warden had been fired “due to an off-duty incident unrelated to his employment.” He declined further comment.

Authoritie­s located the truck by checking cameras and finding a vehicle matching the descriptio­n given by the migrants, according to court records.

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