Texas Warden, Twin Brother Accused of Shooting Migrants from Truck

Mark Edward Sheppard and Mike Thomas Sheppard are accused of fatally shooting a migrant an
Photos: El Paso County Sheriff's Office

A Texas prison warden and his brother face manslaughter charges in connection with the fatal shooting of a migrant and for allegedly injuring another. The migrants were drinking water from a reservoir at the time of the shooting.

Officials report the shooting took place earlier this week in Hudspeth County, Texas, in the remote Big Bend Border Patrol Sector. According to the El Paso Times, authorities arrested 60-year-old Mike Thomas Sheppard and his twin brother Mark Edward Sheppard on Thursday afternoon on manslaughter charges.

The brothers are accused of stopping their pickup on the side of the road and shooting at a group of migrants that had stopped to drink water. According to the El Paso Times, the shooting took place on Tuesday evening when the migrants had stopped near a water reservoir to drink and saw a vehicle approach. The group hid but then when the truck stopped, they heard a series of expletives in Spanish telling them to come out. Seconds later, the men allegedly fired two shots.

The victims were part of a group of 13 migrants from Mexico, including an underage teen. A male migrant died from his injuries and a woman remains at a hospital in El Paso in stable condition, the local newspaper published.

According to the Texas TV station KVIA, Mike Sheppard was the warden of a nearby private prison called West Texas Detention Center in Sierra Blanca. Mark Sheppard also worked as a prison guard. Both men have since been fired from their job.

The racial undertones of the shooting have sparked much controversy, as the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas called for an investigation into the case.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.     

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