Ozanam Center Screenshot of a video showing migrants waiting at a bus stop in Brownsville, Texas.
Video shows the moment the driver of a Range Rover SUV struck and killed seven migrants who were waiting at a bus stop in Brownsville, Texas on the morning of Sunday, May 7, 2023.
You can watch the video below, but be aware that it is extremely disturbing.
Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. of Cameron County, Texas, told the New York Times that the Range Rover struck the group outside the Ozanam Center shelter, near a bus stop, killing seven and injuring 11 more. He told the newspaper it was unclear whether the crash was intentional or the driver had lost control of the vehicle for some reason, and he added that the driver was injured.
However, Investigator Martin Sandoval of the Brownsville Police Department said in a later press conference that, “I am here to clarify that Brownsville police has never taken the stand that it was an intentional accident.” He said that authorities are also investigating whether it was an accident or whether intoxication was involved. He said they are also investigating whether it was intentional, though. He said police are awaiting a toxicology test result.
Brownsville police spokesperson Martin Sandoval: “I know there is a report out there, they are saying that it was intentional… I’m here to clarify that Brownsville police has never taken the stand that this was an intentional accident. It is a factor that we have to look at.”
The driver’s name has not been released. The names of the victims have also not been released. Brownsville, Texas, is located along the Texan border with Mexico.
The tragedy comes the day after an active shooter murdered eight people and wounded seven others at a mall in Allen, Texas, near Dallas.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Video Shows Wounded & Slain Migrants on the Ground Alongside Clothes & Debris
A very disturbing and graphic video shows the moment the SUV ran into the migrants. A longer version of the above video shows the moment the SUV plowed into the migrants and also the aftermath, with bloodied bodies lying on the ground and people moaning in pain. Heavy is not embedding the longer version of the video that contains up close views of the bodies.
Video showed the scene where the migrants died. The video showed items that looked like clothing scattered on the ground as law enforcement officials investigated the scene.
According to Valley Central, Luis Herrera, who was at the scene, said, “We were going to the airport and it happened unexpectedly because a woman in a car passed by and advised us to separate and moments later the killer was coming in the car gesturing and insulting us.”
Most of the Victims Were Venezuelan Men Who Were Sitting Along a Curb, According to the Director of the Shelter
Victor Maldonado, director of the Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center, told WSAZ-TV that he reviewed the shelter’s surveillance video.
He said that people were struck while waiting at a city bus stop across the street from the shelter, and they were sitting on the curb because there is no bench, WSAZ-TV reported.
“What we see in the video is that this SUV, a Range Rover, just ran the light that was about a 100 feet away and just went through the people who were sitting there in the bus stop,” Maldonado said to The Associated Press.
Most of the victims, who have not been named, were men from Venezuela, he told the station.
According to the AP, the SUV flipped and struck some people walking on the sidewalk near the bus shelter as well.
The AP reported that the “Ozanam shelter is the only overnight shelter in the city of Brownsville and manages the release of thousands of migrants from federal custody.”
Brownsville Police Say Police Received a Call of a ‘Major Accident’ Early on Sunday Morning
Sandoval said in a video press release on May 7, 2023, that police were “at the scene of a major accident.”
He said that roads were blocked off, and police were asking people to stay away from the scene.
Sandoval said in the press conference that the incident occurred at 8:30 a.m., when police “received a call about an accident,” he said.
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