Davis Winkie, Military Times and James Barragan/The Texas Tribune
Friday, January 20, 2023 | 05:00
A Texas National Guard soldier patrolling the border with Mexico shot a migrant Sunday morning just west of McAllen, according to an internal state Military Department document obtained by the Military Times and The Texas Tribune.
It is the first known incident since the mission began in which a soldier shot and wounded a foreigner. The document does not indicate that the victim had a firearm or other weapons during the incident. The injury is not life threatening.
The soldier who shot, Specialist Angel Gallegos, is an infantryman assigned to the border as part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, a multi-million dollar mission aimed at curbing the number of immigrants entering Texas. About 5,500 members of the Texas National Guard (NG) remain stationed along the Rio Grande lookout posts, building fences and, in some cases, detaining the undocumented for the mission, which began in March 2021.
The man was shot in the left shoulder. He was taken to McAllen Medical Center for evaluation and treatment, according to the document.
The Texas Military Department and Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ericka Miller, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Safety (DPS), said the Texas Rangers are investigating the shooting.
The incident is the third known incident since the mission began in which a Texas Guardsman intentionally opened fire while on duty. In January 2022, a soldier fired on a Chrysler 300, recently seen smuggling immigrants, that he believed was speeding toward a fellow Guard. No one was injured in that event. Most recently, a soldier committed suicide with his service weapon while on patrol in Eagle Pass in October.
The shooting took place around 4:20 a.m. Sunday after two Guardsmen joined Border Patrol (BP) agents and a trained dog who tracked a group of migrants to an abandoned house. The military entered the building where three of the four foreigners surrendered, according to the report.
According to the document, the fourth person tried to flee through a window and resisted when one of the agents tried to apprehend him. The migrant tackled the service member to the ground, hitting him with his fists and elbows, according to the report. During the struggle, the Guardsman drew his M17 pistol and shot the migrant in the left shoulder at point-blank range as the migrant fell on top of the soldier. The soldier fired once, the document says.
No other injuries were reported.
A local BP spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It is unclear if the officer intended to fire his weapon. Two soldiers assigned to the border mission have been killed in accidental shootings, known as “negligent discharges” in military jargon, since it expanded in fall 2021.
A Texas Ranger conducted an “initial interview” with the soldier after the shooting. It’s unclear if the Rangers will be the lead agency for any potential investigation. The DPS, which oversees the division’s investigative arm, works alongside the Texas Military Department on Operation Lone Star.
Miller said DPS was unable to provide additional information because the investigation is ongoing.
US Rep. Veronica Escobar, an El Paso Democrat who has criticized Abbott’s operation, said the border security mission had created the situation that led to the shooting.
“Governor Greg Abbott’s reckless and political decision to place our National Guard service members in situations where they have no specialized training and for which they rarely, if ever, have jurisdiction makes a situation already defiant is potentially dangerous,” he said in a statement. “Continuing this deployment will only lead to similar or even worse incidents, which could prove fatal. I look forward to a full, thorough and transparent investigation.”
