Brownsville, Texas: 7 dead, ten injured after motorist runs them down outside migrant shelter in – cops

Seven people were killed on Sunday, and ten others injured after a motorist allegedly ran them down near a migrant shelter in Brownsville, Texas, local authorities said.

The killings happened at about 8:30am in front of the Ozanam Center, which houses migrants and homeless people, according to ValleyCentral.com. It’s unclear if the incident was intentional.

Authorities said the victims were waiting outside the shelter at a city bus stop.

Lt. Martin Sandoval told the news station that seven victims died at the scene.

Another ten were taken to hospital.

“The injured parties have gone up to 10. There might be more possibly coming in, because we have learned that several of the people that were injured have been transported to several hospitals throughout the valley. So those numbers will be rising,” he said.

Video, which is too graphic to publish, captured the horrifying incident. The migrants were seen sitting on the kerb when a vehicle approached at high speed. The Range Rover veered into the group, sending people flying into the air. The vehicle then flipped, rolled and skidded out of frame. Shocking clips showed dead bodies — as well as people crying in pain with horrific injuries included an amputated leg. Most of the victims were Venezuelan men.

Only a handful of the people waiting at the bus stop walked away from the incident.

Authorities have brought the suspect — an unidentified man — to the hospital, where he is being checked for alcohol and drug use.

He is being held under 24-hour guard watch, cops said.

“Now, we don’t know the actual cause of the accident. Like I said, it could be three different things. One, he could be intoxicated. Two, it could be just an accidental one or three, it could be intentional,” Sandoval said.

Police have charged the motorist with reckless driving, though they will likely file more charges, Sandoval said, especially if the act was intentional.

One of the survivors, Luis Herrera, told local media many of the group were waiting for a ride to the airport when they were struck.

“We were going to the airport, and it happened unexpectedly because a woman in a car passed by and advised us to separate and moments later, the killer was coming in the car gesturing and insulting us,” Herrera said.

Authorities, including the FBI, have launched an investigation to see whether the fatal crash was an accident or intentional, he added.

AFP reports it was not immediately clear whether the victims were migrants.

The news of the tragedy comes as authorities brace for the lifting on Thursday of a Donald Trump-era federal policy that allows border patrol officers to deport or turn away migrants without even accepting their asylum applications.

The looming expiration of the rule known as Title 42 has authorities fearing a spike in undocumented migrants entering the United States.

The homeless shelter across the street from where the crash occurred is currently housing some migrants due to the current “influx” of people crossing the border from Mexico, according to Sandoval.

– With AFP and the New York Post