(The Center Square) – As Border Patrol agents and federal immigration officers continue to be targeted for violence, two targeted attacks occurred in Texas within a few days, resulting in local police officers being shot.
The first shooting took place south of Ft. Worth, the second in the border town of McAllen.
On Monday morning, a McAllen police officer was shot responding to an active shooter targeting the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol annex located next to the McAllen Airport.
McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez said a police officer and Border Patrol agents “engaged the suspect that had opened fire upon that building and upon those agents that were in the building.” A 10-year veteran of the police force who responded to the scene, Ismael Garcia, “was struck by a round,” Rodriguez said at a news conference. “He got hit in the knee. He is going to be fine. He’s going through a recovery process and treatment … at a local hospital.”
Rodriguez tentatively identified the shooter as 27-year-old Michigan resident Ryan Louis Mosqueda.
He fired “many, many, many dozens of rounds … towards the building and towards agents in that building,” Rodriguez said. He was killed “on scene as a result of taking fire from Border Patrol agents.”
Mosqueda arrived in Texas in a vehicle with Michigan tags and was connected to an address in Weslaco. He was reported missing at 4 a.m. by someone in the residence, Rodriguez said. One hour later, he was shooting at the station and shot dead.
Mosqueda doesn’t appear to have a criminal record. Authorities don’t believe there are any more associated threats and don’t have a motive for the shooting, Rodriguez said.
They found “much more ammunition and other weaponry that [he] brought with him” in his vehicle, he said. The phrase, “Cordis Die,” was spray painted on it, meaning “Call of Duty.” It’s unclear what the phrase has if anything to do with the shooting, Rodriguez said.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a statement confirming the shooting, stating that “Two officers and a Border Patrol employee were injured, including one shot in the knee. All three have gone to the hospital. This is an ongoing investigation led by the FBI.” However, no federal agents were physically injured, Rodriguez said.
“The world is much smaller than we think,” Rodriguez told reporters. “The threats are always looming. They are always present and incidents like these make us realize that we’ve always got to be on guard and keep our community safe.”
The response was a collaborate effort where local, state and federal law enforcement officers worked seamlessly together, he said. The FBI is taking the lead on a multi-agency investigation.
Just days earlier, on July 4, multiple suspects fired on a police officer, striking the officer in the neck, during an active shooter incident outside of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Alvarado, in Johnson County, roughly 27 miles south of Ft. Worth.
Just before 11 p.m., an Alvarado Police Department officer was dispatched to the 1200 block of Sunflower Lane in response to a suspicious persons call. Once on scene, the officer observed a suspicious person who appeared to be carrying a firearm, the APD said. “As the first responding officer attempted to engage the person, multiple suspects opened fire” on the officer, striking the officer in the neck “by at least one bullet,” the APD said. The officer was flown to Harris Methodist Hospital in Ft. Worth, treated and released.
The suspects attempted to flee but were caught by APD officers, Johnson County Sheriff’s deputies and neighboring agencies who “took several armed suspects into custody,” the APD said. The motives of the suspects remain unclear.
Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Texas Rangers and federal law enforcement, are involved in an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the APD’s criminal investigations division at 817-790-0910.
The targeted shooting incidents occurred after attacks against ICE officers have increased by more than 500% in the last few months, The Center Square reported.
