KTSM News – Texas Rescue Patrol: Drunk, armed people a growing problem at Red Sands

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – After another deadly incident at Red Sands during the Thanksgiving weekend, Texas Rescue Patrol is warning of a dangerous pattern that keeps repeating at off-roading gatherings.

On Friday, Nov. 24, the day after Thanksgiving, one person was fatally shot and another two injured after shots were fired at an annual Turkey Run off-roading event.

Jamil Moutran has been a volunteer with Texas Rescue Patrol for years and says these large gatherings are becoming a public safety issue.

People usually come to Red Sands to ride their ATVs or dirtbikes and some engage in recreational target shooting in the area.

However, Moutran said, they are seeing a lot of intoxicated individuals that carry weapons and shoot them recklessly.

“What we’re seeing is intoxicated individuals having no regard for the safety of those around them or building structures that are around them,” he said.

On one occasion, he said, TRP medical personnel almost got shot while they were responding to an emergency at Red Sands.

“A few months back we were on scene with two patients. We had the Fire Department with us. We had the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office with us. And as we were treating the two patients, they started shooting at us and rounds were going over our heads and we had to duck down because they were shooting at us,” he recalled.

In fear of safety for TRP volunteers, Moutran said they are collecting donations to provide body armor vests for every EMT.

TRP often assists El Paso Sherrif’s deputies and other first responding agencies in East El Paso County, even though they cover the majority of the Hudspeth County area.

Mountran said, with large gatherings that often end up with an emergency call, it’s difficult for Sheriff’s deputies to respond as they are stretched thin with responding to other emergencies as well.

He believes the solution is in local government regulation and allocation of resources, especially in El Paso County.

“There needs to be regulations and traffic control patterns and management process to manage the crowds. Simply closing Red Sands is not the solution,” Moutran said.

He pointed out that the barricades that the county put on their part of the property were not effective in the past two years.

Currently, the area of Red Sands is divided into several private properties, and a part of the property owned by the county.

That’s why, Moutran said, it’s difficult to regulate it.

During busy times, such as the Fourth of July, Moutran said local authorities will make sure to monitor the area, but many times it’s difficult with large crowds blocking access and generally a lack of resources.

 Read: Read More