Border Dangers: El Paso Woman Struck by Stray Bullet Zooming Across Texas-Mexico Border During Gunfight in Juárez, Mexico (video)
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on February 22, 2012
A woman pushing a baby stroller in El Paso was hit by a bullet that crossed the Texas-Mexico border from Juárez, Mexico
The dangers at the US-Mexico border from spillover violence have not abated. Once again, a bullet fired in Juárez, Mexico has accidentally crossed into Texas.
By the grace of God, this alarming story could have ended far more tragically than it did. In El Paso yesterday, a woman was shot by a random bullet flying into Texas from across the US-Mexican border while she was pushing a baby in a stroller. The bullet ripped into the woman’s leg. The child, thankfully, was not injured.
A few El Paso schools went into lockdown following the shooting. It is believed that the stray bullet was fired during a Mexican gun battle where a car jacking was taking place in Juárez.
Bullets flying into Texas from Mexico have happened before.
Reported by El Paso Times, El Paso police chief confirms woman shot by bullet from Juarez:
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.
El Paso Police Report on Shooting, Woman Struck by Bullet from Mexico
Press Conference on the El Paso Shooting
From CBS News, El Paso woman hit by stray bullet from Mexico:
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.
An update from El Paso News…
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.”
Video rewind of previous Texas-Mexico border gunfire incidents:
Gun Shots From Mexico Hits El Paso City Hall | August 2010
First-hand accountings of the fear and chaos that shook El Paso citizens during the Mexican shootout in 2010.
News Channel 9: Stand With Arizona! El Paso/Juarez Shoot Out Leaves One Dead | August 2010
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