MISSION, Texas (Border Report) — A 24-year-old member of the Texas Army National Guard was found dead on Thanksgiving morning while patrolling the border in Laredo, Texas, police told Border Report.
The guard member was killed from “a self-inflicted wound while on duty by a public park,” Laredo police spokesman Jose Espinoza told Border Report on Monday.
Espinoza would not release the guard member’s name or hometown but said he was found by Chacon Bat Park, located along the border with Mexico and overlooks the Rio Grande.
Per police department policy, Espinoza said he also could not say whether or not it was a suicide.
Local media reported the guard member had suffered a gunshot wound.
Texas Army National Guard troops patrol the border as part of Operation Lone Star, the state-funded border security initiative that Gov. Greg Abbott started in 2021.
Texas National Guard troops train on April 7, 2022, on the border of Mission, Texas. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report File Photo)
Abbott’s office on Wednesday reported that since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to over 485,700 migrant apprehensions and more than 36,800 criminal arrests, with more than 33,400 felony charges reported.
Since thousands of Texas National Guard troops have been sent to the border, there have been four reported suicides by guard troops stationed on the border, including a death in Laredo on Oct. 26, 2021, according to an investigation by the Army Times.
There also have been suicide attempts, according to the Military Times and Texas Tribune.
A suicide prevention meeting has been scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the City of Laredo Health Department’s auditorium on Wednesday.
Border Report has asked the Texas Military Department — which oversees the Texas Army National Guard — for more information on the Nov. 23 incident. This story will be updated if information is received.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.
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