McALLEN, Texas (AP) — A heavily armed man opened fire on federal agents with an assault rifle Monday morning at a U.S. Border Patrol facility in Texas, injuring a police officer before authorities shot and killed him.
Authorities identified the man as Ryan Louis Mosqueda, who they said fired dozens of rounds at agents and the building in McAllen, which is near the U.S.-Mexico border. McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez said Mosqueda was carrying a “utility vest” in addition to the rifle when federal agents returned fire.
After Mosqueda was killed, law enforcement found other weaponry, ammunition and backpacks that the suspect had brought.
“There are many, many more rounds of ammunition in his backpack,” Rodriguez said.
In addition, they found the white two-door sedan, which had letters painted — possibly in Latin — on the driver’s side door.
“What it means, or whether or not it is an underlying reason for him being here, I do not know,” Rodriguez said when asked about the graffiti.
Rodriguez said his department received a call about the shooting around 5:50 a.m. One officer who responded to the shooting, a 10-year veteran, was injured after being struck in the knee. Rodriguez said it was unclear if the injury was from shrapnel or a bullet.
Police say Mosqueda was linked to a Michigan address, but was reported missing from a Weslaco, Texas, address around 4 a.m. Monday. Weslaco is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the Border Patrol facility.
“An hour and a few minutes later, he was at this particular location opening fire on the federal building and our federal agents,” Rodriguez said.
Additional information about the missing person report, including who reported it and the circumstances, was not immediately made available.
Rodriguez said there is no ongoing threat to the public, but it is unknown if any other people were involved in the attack. He said the motive and events leading up to the attack are part of the ongoing investigation, which the FBI is taking the lead on.
The attack comes as President Donald Trump ‘s administration ramps up deportations, which will be turbocharged by a massive spending bill that became law last week. Stephen Miller, the president’s deputy chief of staff and chief architect of his immigration policies, recently set a target of at least 3,000 immigration arrests a day, up from about 650 a day during the first five months of the administration.
