Texas National Guard Soldier shoots an illegal alien

Governor Greg Abbott of Texas initiated Operation Lone Star in a bid to mitigate illegal immigration from Mexico into the U.S. via Texas. A Texas National Guard Soldier, SPC Angel Gallegos, became the first Soldier in this operation to shoot and injure an illegal alien. Documents related to the event do not indicate that the illegal alien was armed. Texas authorities are investigating this shooting.

From military.com:

The soldier who fired, Spc. Angel Gallegos, is an infantryman assigned to the border as part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, a multibillion-dollar mission intended to curb the number of migrants entering Texas. Around 5,500 members of the Texas National Guard remain posted along the Rio Grande manning observation posts, building fences and in some cases apprehending migrants for the mission, which began in March 2021.

The migrant was shot in his left shoulder. He was taken to McAllen Medical Center for evaluation and treatment, according to the document.

The Texas Military Department and Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ericka Miller, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety said the Texas Rangers are investigating the shooting.

The shooting is the third known incident since the mission began in which a Texas Guard member has intentionally opened fire on duty. In January 2022, a soldier shot at a Chrysler 300, recently seen smuggling migrants, that he believed was accelerating toward a fellow Guardsman. Nobody was harmed in that incident. More recently, a soldier died by suicide with his duty weapon while on patrol in Eagle Pass in October.

The shooting took place around 4:20 a.m. Sunday, after two Guardsmen joined Border Patrol agents and a trained dog who tracked a group of migrants to an abandoned house. The soldiers entered the building where three of the four migrants surrendered, the report said.

According to the document, the fourth migrant tried to flee through a window and resisted when one of the soldiers tried to apprehend him. The migrant wrestled the service member to the ground, striking him with his fists and elbows, the document said. During the struggle, the Guard member drew his M17 pistol and shot the migrant in the left shoulder at close range as the migrant was falling on top of the soldier. The soldier fired once, the document said.

No other injuries were reported.

It’s not clear if the soldier intended to fire his weapon. Two service members assigned to the border mission have died in accidental shootings — known as “negligent discharges” in military parlance — since it expanded in the fall of 2021.

Rod Kise, a spokesperson with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the Rio Grande Valley, said Border Patrol agents, as well as DPS troopers, were present during the shooting Sunday morning. Kise said the Department of Public Safety is the lead agency on the investigation, but CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility is also reviewing the incident.

Military.com has additional information at this link.

Category: Illegal Immigrants, National Guard