Thread: Update: El Paso police chief confirms woman shot by bullet from Juarez

Update: El Paso police chief confirms woman shot by bullet from Juarez

El Paso Times



Juárez police found, chased and exchanged gunfire with car theft suspects Tuesday morning. The suspects crashed at the intersection of Malecón Avenue and Xochimilco Street, less than half a mile away from the border. (El Paso Times)

By Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times

El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said the woman was a 48-year-old mother who was pushing a child in a stroller when she was shot in the upper right calf.

Allen said the round went through her leg. She was taken to University Medical Center of El Paso.

Allen, El Paso Mayor John Cook and El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles conducted a press conference late Tuesday afternoon at City Hall.

Allen said the woman is a Mexican citizen but has a residency card and lives in El Paso.

Allen said that the bullet came from a gunfight between carjackers and law enforcement in Juarez.

Cook said that the public should not panic over this incident and that El Paso is still a safe place to live.

Allen said the Police Department received about 10 911 calls reporting the sound of gunfire during the time of the shooting. Allen said that El Paso authorities are working with law enforcement in Juarez regarding this case.

The bullet has been sent to a Texas Department of Public Safety lab for testing.

Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com; 546-6102.

Update: Mayor John Cook, police Chief Greg Allen and Sheriff Richard Wiles will host a news conference at 5 p.m. today to discuss today's shooting.

UPDATE

By Adriana M. Chávez and Alejandro Martinez Cabrera / El Paso Times

El Paso Mayor John Cook is asking residents not to panic after a woman in El Paso was possibly injured by a stray bullet from a Juárez shootout.

"It's always concerning when you're living so close to the violence on the other side of the border," Cook said today. "We're always worried about the possibility of somebody injured or killed because of something that happens in our neighboring city."

Cook said the incident is the first of its kind since the drug-related violence escalated in Juárez.

"People get struck by lightning, too, and that doesn't make us stay indoors when there is a rainstorm," he said. "It is very unfortunate that this happened. Fortunately, the woman was not seriously hurt. That is a blessing."

Cook added he does not believe stationing military troops along the U.S. side of the border would help in preventing incidents like this to happen again.

El Paso has had two previous incidents involved stray bullets crossing over to this side of the border.

In June, 2010, the ninth floor of City Hall in Downtown El Paso was struck by a bullet believed to have come from Juárez.

Just a couple months later, in August, 2010, a building at the University of Texas at El Paso also was struck by a stray bullet.

Aileen B. Flores contributed to this report.

Update: School district officials have confirmed the lockdown has been lifted at Aoy, Hart and Guillen schools.

Original story: A woman suffered minor injuries after she was apparently grazed by a bullet in Downtown El Paso.

The shooting also forced school officials to place three Downtown schools on lockdown as a precaution.

The shooting was reported just after 11 a.m. at 200 E. Overland when the bullet grazed the lower left leg of the woman. She was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Shots were also heard near Aoy and Hart elementary schools and Guillen Middle School, and the schools were immediately placed on lockdown, district officials said.

According to emergency radio transmissions, witnesses told police they heard shots coming from across the border. Police are looking into whether the shooting is related to any shootings in Juárez.

Juárez police spokesman Adrián Sánchez said police received a car theft report in downtown around 11 a.m.

Police found, chased and exchanged gunfire with the suspects, who crashed the stolen vehicle at the intersection of Malecón Avenue and Xochimilco Street, less than half a mile away from the border.

The two suspects were injured and taken to a local hospital, Sanchez said. Police seized one handgun at the scene.

Sanchez said he didn't have any information regarding gunfire crossing over to El Paso.

In El Paso, witnesses reported hearing automatic weapons being fired in the area, but it's not immediately known if the shooting in El Paso and the police chase in Juárez are indeed related.

Police spokesman Detective Mike Baranyay confirmed officers have recovered evidence at the scene where the woman was shot. He said there is a possiblity the woman was injured by a stray bullet originating in Juárez, but investigators have not made that determination.

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Source: Update: El Paso police chief confirms woman shot by bullet from Juarez - El Paso Times

Originally published Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 5:55 PM

Woman in Texas struck by bullet from Mexico

By JUAN CARLOS LLORCA
Associated Press

EL PASO, Texas —
A woman shopping on a busy downtown El Paso street became the first victim of bullets flying across the border from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Tuesday when she was hit in the calf and wounded, authorities said.

The 48-year-old woman, whose name has not been released, was pushing a stroller when she was struck. Gregg Allen, El Paso's chief of police, said the wound was caused by a "full metal jacket hard-nosed bullet" like those used in assault rifles.

Because of that, he said, the projectile caused a clean exit wound. The victim was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was treated and released.

El Paso Mayor John Cook asked residents to remain calm, saying there is "no way to prevent incidents like this from happening" and the odds of getting hit by a stray bullet are minimal.

Many people who were in the area at first didn't realize what had happened.

"We didn't hear anything. The first thing we heard was the firemen coming, but we didn't know what was happening," said Luis Gomez, a pedestrian who was shopping in the same area where the woman was hit.

She was struck at the same time Juarez police were battling alleged carjackers a few hundred feet from the U.S. border. Allen said reports indicate up to 50 shots were fired in that gunfight.

Police notified the public school district about the shooting and three El Paso schools were put on lockdown.

The bullet was sent to the Texas Department of Public Safety for ballistic analysis, but Allen said it is unlikely the owner of the gun will be found.

Since drug-related violence in Juarez spiked in 2008, bullets have struck El Paso buildings, including a local high school, City Hall and the University of Texas at El Paso. However, this is the first time a person has been hit.

Juarez and El Paso share a large metropolitan area. Their downtown areas are separated by the Rio Grande and the border fence. While El Paso has been dubbed one of the safest cities in the U.S., Juarez's homicide rate put it among the most dangerous cities in the hemisphere.

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