AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — 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 (145 kilometers) 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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Associated Press writer Acacia Coronado contributed to this report.