Staff
The El Paso Journal
Tuesday, January 10, 2023 | 21:08
Step.- More details emerge about a man who pointed his gun at several migrants in Downtown El Paso, near the Sacred Heart Church, on December 31 in an attempt to scare them from his vehicle.
In an affidavit in the possession of El Diario de El Paso, Steven Driscoll, 27, states that he committed the crime – which forced the migrants to run for their lives – “for the United States of America.”
Driscoll, who had a police record, was driving through an area that had been blocked off for migrants and where a Sun Metro bus was providing shelter near the Greyhound station in downtown El Paso. He was seen making a U-turn, exiting the truck and approaching the blocked off area before pointing a gun at several immigrants.
A “migrant witness” told investigators that he and his friend saw a man with a gun at his side approach the blocked off area and followed him to see him draw his gun.
The migrants started yelling to warn others that there was a man with a gun.
A migrant who was inside the blocked area said the man pointed the gun at others and then turned it on him. The man said he feared for his life, adding that he had seen videos of mass shootings and thought “this was the end of my life.”
Another witness described seeing foreigners flee from the gunman.
Police say Driscoll pointed a gun at the migrants about two hours earlier outside Sacred Heart Church in south El Paso.
A call was made to 911 around 10:30 p.m. on December 31 to report a suspicious man who was harassing immigrants near the church.
According to court documents, the same caller went to the area near the Greyhound bus station to warn migrants that a man had been harassing them outside the church, which is about a mile away.
Responding police officers were unable to locate the suspect’s vehicle after the first report. However, the suspect allegedly returned to the area shortly after midnight and police found the suspect’s vehicle, a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado pickup with New Mexico license plates, near the Greyhound bus station on Santa Fe Street.
Driscoll allegedly drove away when police officers asked him to get out of his vehicle. The police gave chase, but a mechanical problem forced them to abandon the pursuit of the truck.
Investigators traced the New Mexico license plate on the suspect’s truck to the registered owner, Driscoll’s uncle. Arriving at the owner’s home, Driscoll allegedly left the home, told officers he knew why they were there, and said his uncle lent him the truck for work.
Inside the Silverado, police located a .22 caliber rifle, along with 12 9mm cartridge cases, the unknown caliber cartridge case, three 9mm cartridges, four unmarked cartridges and an orange FRAM oil filter.
