EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — A National Guard soldier shot a migrant who stabbed two people near the border, according to an internal bulletin obtained by NewsNation.
The incident happened along the edge of the Rio Grande on Sunday afternoon in El Paso’s Lower Valley.
NewsNation correspondent Ali Bradley reported that the soldier involved is a member of the Indiana National Guard and was deployed to El Paso as part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security initiative, Operation Lone Star.
According to the U.S. Border Patrol bulletin, titled “Border Violence/National Guardsman Involved in a Shooting,” the soldier saw an individual stabbing a fellow migrant along the river’s edge, which is on U.S. soil. The soldier shot the individual, who ran back into Mexico. It is unclear what they were shot with or whether they were struck.
Investigators soon 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” and didn’t consider 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.
Border Patrol officials referred all questions to the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department, of which the Texas Army National Guard is part.
In a statement to Border Report, a Texas Military Department spokesman confirmed that a National Guard servicemember assigned to Operation Lone Star discharged a weapon in a “border-related incident” on Sunday, adding that it is under investigation and that more information will be made available as the investigation progresses.
Border Report has also reached out to Texas DPS and is awaiting a response.
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