A 27-year-old man from Michigan was shot dead by US Border Patrol agents after he opened fire with an assault rifle at a Border Patrol station in McAllen, a city in southern Texas, on Monday, according to local police.
Ryan Louis Mosqueda fired dozens of rounds at the entrance of the facility shortly before 6 a.m. and agents returned fire, McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez told reporters.
A McAllen police officer was shot in the knee during the exchange of fire and was taken to hospital, Rodriguez said.
The US Department of Homeland Security said a Border Patrol employee was also injured.
Law enforcement found additional assault firearms and more ammunition in Mosqueda’s Chevrolet passenger car, which was parked outside the facility, Rodriguez added.
“There were many, many, dozens of rounds fired by the suspect towards the building and agents in the building,” he said.
‘Cordis DIE’
Writing, thought to be Latin, was spray-painted on the side of the vehicle, but Rodriguez said it did not give any indication of the motive for the attack.
Images from the scene showed “Cordis DIE,” a Latin phrase meaning “Heart Day,” written on the driver’s door of the white, two-door car. “Cordis Die” is also a fictional populist revolutionary movement in the “Call of Duty: Black Ops II” video game, according to fan websites.
Mosqueda is believed to have ties to the area and was reported missing at 4 a.m. from a residence in Weslaco, about 18 miles (29 kilometers) east of McAllen, Rodriguez said.
‘Mental Deficiency’
Mosqueda’s father was stopped for a traffic infraction at 3:48 a.m. in Weslaco and told police he was searching for his son, according to a report by local Telemundo station T40, citing Weslaco police.
Mosqueda’s father, Jose Mosqueda, told an officer his son had a “mental deficiency,” had not taken any medication and was carrying firearms in his vehicle, according to the T40 report.
Police identified the license plate of Ryan Mosqueda’s vehicle and alerted authorities, the report said.
Weslaco police did not respond to a request for comment and it was not immediately possible to contact Jose Mosqueda.
The facility where the shooting took place houses Border Patrol’s special operations teams, according to a former US Customs and Border Protection official.
Disruption
Flights at the nearby McAllen International Airport were delayed for several hours on Monday as law enforcement secured the area.
President Donald Trump, a Republican, has made combating illegal immigration a top priority, sending troops to secure the US-Mexico border and launching aggressive raids in US cities.
The actions, supported by Trump’s hardline Republican base, have also led to pushback from Americans concerned about arrests of non-criminals and enforcement tactics that include officers wearing masks to hide their identities.
(With inputs from Reuters)
