Global Courant 2023-05-08 19:14:58
A man drove his car into a crowd of people near a bus stop in Brownsville, Texas on Sunday, killing at least seven people and injuring at least 10 others.
The police are continuing the investigation to understand whether this was an intentional incident or not.
The driver is in custody, said Lt. Martin Sandoval of the Brownsville Police Department, adding that he is charged with reckless driving and several other offenses.
Mr. Sandoval said the victims were waiting for the bus near the Ozanam center, a shelter for migrants.
The car also hit some bystanders on a nearby sidewalk.
It is not yet known if the driver drove into the crowd on purpose, or if he lost control of the car.
Witnesses say that the driver tried to leave the scene, but they managed to catch him and hold him until the police arrived.
“For now, we are treating the case as an accident, but we cannot say that this was not intentional. That’s what investigators are trying to find out. It’s a case that can change direction quickly,” says Mr. Sandoval.
He added that the police are investigating whether the driver was drunk or under the influence of drugs.
There were no other passengers in the car.
“We wish that the hospitalized immigrants will recover, because their families, who are far away, depend on them. We crossed mountains to emigrate. The road to get here was long and arduous”, says an immigrant, a witness of the case.
The city of Brownsville has long attracted immigrants coming to the United States through Mexico.
The city has been in the spotlight in recent days, as border restrictions imposed by the US government due to the pandemic, which authorities have used to reject asylum requests, are expected to be lifted this week, on May 11.
The Ozanam shelter is the only center that provides housing and manages migrants released from detention.
The center can accommodate 250 people, but most of those who settle in, leave there on the same day.
In recent weeks, due to the increase in the number of immigrants at the border points, the city declared a state of emergency, while local, state and federal resources coordinated the humanitarian response.
This is the second case that rocked Texas over the weekend. On Saturday, a 33-year-old gunman killed eight people and wounded at least seven others in a gun attack in a shopping center./VOA
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