Advocates are demanding hate crime charges be filed against a former detention center warden as more information connected to the fatal shooting of migrants in Texas arises. The suspects, identified as Michael “Mike” Sheppard and Mark Sheppard, are two brothers who were arrested Thursday for the shooting of two migrants on Tuesday, Sept. 27. One victim was killed and the other survived with injuries.
The shots were fired by Mike Sheppard while a group of 13 immigrants was drinking water out of a reservoir. According to an arrest affidavit obtained by The Texas Tribune, the Sheppard brothers yelled using racist language prior to the shooting.
Campaign Action
But that’s not all: The arrest affidavit also notes discrepancies in the story the brothers told police officials, a conversation the two had after the shots were fired, and how they attended a local water board meeting after.
“Did you get him?” Mark Sheppard asked Michael, according to the affidavit. Mark Sheppard allegedly changed “him” to “it” while recalling the incident to arresting officers and claimed the brothers were hunting animals and didn’t know they had fired at people.
Prior to claiming they were hunting for animals and did not stop to check whether the shots hit anything, Mark Sheppard initially told officers that he wasn’t even with his brother at the time of the shooting. He “later changed his story and admitted” he was with Michael Sheppard, the affidavit report says.
That’s not the only change in his story. After first telling officers they stopped to shoot “ducks, [Mark Sheppard] then changed it to birds and then to a javelina,” the report says.
He claimed that he saw a "black butt" through the binoculars and thought it was a javelina. He only became aware of a migrant being shot after hearing it on the radio.
The affidavit also noted that when authorities asked Michael Sheppard about the incident involving the migrants, he was reluctant to speak.
According to The Texas Tribune, the case has been referred to the El Paso County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
Given Michael Sheppard’s history of abuse towards migrants and the inconsistency of the stories being told to police, advocates are demanding the incident be considered a hate crime.
At least five members of Congress from Texas have called on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the incident as such and to take note of potential civil rights violations.
"It's hard not to imagine that the victims were attacked in cold blood by two men who looked at the color of their skin and decided to make them targets," U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio said during a press conference, where he was joined by Reps. Sylvia Garcia and Al Green of Houston and Lloyd Doggett of Austin.
While details have not been released, a spokesperson for Homeland Security Investigations told The Texas Tribune it would work with local and federal law enforcement to investigate all leads “concerning the shooting and will pursue state murder charges and any other potential federal crimes.”
Abortion rights, climate change, and gun safety are all on the ballot this fall. Click to start writing Postcards to Democratic-leaning voters in targeted House districts today.
RELATED STORY: Texas immigration jail warden with history of abuse toward migrants arrested for murder
The shots were fired by Mike Sheppard while a group of 13 immigrants was drinking water out of a reservoir. According to an arrest affidavit obtained by The Texas Tribune, the Sheppard brothers yelled using racist language prior to the shooting.
Campaign Action
But that’s not all: The arrest affidavit also notes discrepancies in the story the brothers told police officials, a conversation the two had after the shots were fired, and how they attended a local water board meeting after.
“Did you get him?” Mark Sheppard asked Michael, according to the affidavit. Mark Sheppard allegedly changed “him” to “it” while recalling the incident to arresting officers and claimed the brothers were hunting animals and didn’t know they had fired at people.
Prior to claiming they were hunting for animals and did not stop to check whether the shots hit anything, Mark Sheppard initially told officers that he wasn’t even with his brother at the time of the shooting. He “later changed his story and admitted” he was with Michael Sheppard, the affidavit report says.
That’s not the only change in his story. After first telling officers they stopped to shoot “ducks, [Mark Sheppard] then changed it to birds and then to a javelina,” the report says.
He claimed that he saw a "black butt" through the binoculars and thought it was a javelina. He only became aware of a migrant being shot after hearing it on the radio.
The affidavit also noted that when authorities asked Michael Sheppard about the incident involving the migrants, he was reluctant to speak.
According to The Texas Tribune, the case has been referred to the El Paso County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
Given Michael Sheppard’s history of abuse towards migrants and the inconsistency of the stories being told to police, advocates are demanding the incident be considered a hate crime.
At least five members of Congress from Texas have called on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the incident as such and to take note of potential civil rights violations.
"It's hard not to imagine that the victims were attacked in cold blood by two men who looked at the color of their skin and decided to make them targets," U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio said during a press conference, where he was joined by Reps. Sylvia Garcia and Al Green of Houston and Lloyd Doggett of Austin.
While details have not been released, a spokesperson for Homeland Security Investigations told The Texas Tribune it would work with local and federal law enforcement to investigate all leads “concerning the shooting and will pursue state murder charges and any other potential federal crimes.”
Abortion rights, climate change, and gun safety are all on the ballot this fall. Click to start writing Postcards to Democratic-leaning voters in targeted House districts today.
RELATED STORY: Texas immigration jail warden with history of abuse toward migrants arrested for murder