A 27-year-old Michigan man was shot dead by police after opening fire with an assault rifle on a US Border Patrol station in the southern Texas city of McAllen yesterday, local police said.
Ryan Louis Mosqueda fired dozens of rounds at the entrance of the facility shortly before 6am and US Border Patrol 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 nearby, Rodriguez added.
“There were many, many, dozens of rounds fired by the suspect towards the building and agents in the building,” he said.
Writing, thought to be Latin, was spray-painted on the side of the vehicle, but Rodriguez did not provide details of what it said or whether it gave any indication of the motive for the attack.
The facility where the shooting took place houses Border Patrol’s special operations teams, according to a former US Customs and Border Protection official.