An Indiana National Guard member was involved in a shooting at the southern border Sunday but details are scant while an investigation continues.
According to a NewsNation report, the soldier saw an individual stabbing a fellow migrant along the river’s edge in El Paso, which is on U.S. soil. The soldier shot at the individual, who ran back into Mexico. It is unclear what they were shot with or whether they were struck.
Indiana National Guard officials deferred specific questions to Texas military officials.
“The Indiana National Guard is aware of the incident that happened Sunday, April 14. We support and care for our soldiers and airmen supporting Operation Lone Star,” the Guard said in a statement.
The Texas Military Department released a statement saying “Early on the afternoon of 14 April, a National Guard Servicemember assigned to Operation Lone Star discharged a weapon in a border-related incident. The incident is under investigation. More information will be made available as the investigation progresses.”
Fifty Indiana National Guard soldiers left Indiana for the volunteer Texas assignment after Easter. The company is set for a 10-month deployment meant to reinforce Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s efforts to close off his state’s share of the U.S.-Mexico border. It will cost Indiana about $7 million.
At the departure ceremony, Gov. Eric Holcomb — who authorized the mission — said Indiana soldiers would focus on observation and reporting.
“Our role is to assist, not to arrest or apprehend,” he said. “We are there as a complement — reporting, watching — to our Texan counterparts.”
According to the Border Report, investigators determined that two individuals had been stabbed. An El Paso Fire and Rescue crew responded a short time later and treated the migrants for what they described as “superficial wounds” that weren’t considered life-threatening.
The bulletin says the Texas Department of Public Safety sealed off the area and that no U.S. Border Patrol agent was allowed in or has been allowed in the secured area or allowed to speak with the individuals involved. However, one agent did escort the medics who took one of the migrants to a hospital, and border agents will help identify and process the migrants.
