A man rammed a car into people waiting at a bus stop in Brownsville, killing at least eight people. NBC News reported on Monday.
A Brownsville car crash injured 10 people believed to be waiting at a stop near a Catholic Charities facility known as the Ozanam Center, according to a senior law enforcement official.
Just after the Texas car crash, around 8:30 a.m., seven deaths were reported. On Sunday evening, Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez said in a Facebook statement that one additional person had died and several were in critical condition.
A senior law enforcement official noted that authorities initially believed it was deliberate. However, the official later said that it was not clear whether it was deliberate and the motive was under investigation.
Brownsville Lt. Police are also looking into whether the driver was drunk or whether the incident was an accident, Martin Sandoval said in an interview.
The driver, a Hispanic male, is not cooperating with investigators, Sandoval said.
Sandoval also noted that “he has given us several names and authorities are awaiting a fingerprint match, hoping to positively identify the driver, who has been charged with reckless driving.”
More charges are likely. The FBI is assisting Brownsville police in the investigation, Sandoval said.
According to the Department of Justice, US Attorney General Merrick Garland was briefed on the incident.
The Brownsville Fire Department said on its official Facebook page early Sunday that eleven people were injured in the crash and taken to local hospitals.
The department also said: One injured person was airlifted to Valley Baptist Medical Center in nearby Harlingen.
“I was almost killed,” one immigrant told Brownsville’s KVEO.
He said: “We were waiting there, and the truck went through the traffic light, and by the grace of God we didn’t get hurt, but it hit the people around us.”
Brownsville is one of the border cities that is seeing an increase in the number of immigrants coming to the United States from Mexico ahead of the end of the Title 42 immigration program on Thursday.
Mayor Mendez said it is still unclear what happened.
“As we continue to learn about today’s tragic incident, we have yet to find evidence that this was an intentional act,” Mendez said.
Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, said the Ozanam center houses some migrants overnight, adding that she has not received any direct threats related to the border crisis in recent weeks.