Two people died and five others were injured in a shooting 10 miles from the US-Mexico border in Arizona.
Just before 11 p.m. Saturday night, police officers were called to South J. Edward Drive in Yuma, Arizona. At a gathering, they found several injured.
Two men, ages 19 and 20, have died from gunshot wounds at Yuma Regional Medical Center.
Four other teenagers, aged 15, 16, 18 and 19, were injured and taken to hospital. A fifth, aged 16, was flown to Phoenix in critical condition.
The Yuma Police Department is still trying to track down a suspect and the motive for the shooting, but believe there is no major threat to the community.
The shooting happened at a gathering on South J. Edward Drive in Yuma, Arizona
Yuma Police are still trying to track down a suspect but believe there is no major threat to the community
Sergeant Lori Franklin of the Yuma Police Department said Sunday, “At approximately 10:54 p.m. on Saturday, May 13, 2023, the Yuma Police Department responded to a report of shots fired in the 3800 block by SJ Edward Drive.”
“Upon arrival, officers found several people with gunshot wounds. A 19-year-old man was transported before police arrived and was pronounced dead at Yuma Regional Medical Center a short time later.
“A second victim, a 20-year-old male, was transported by the Yuma Fire Department to the Yuma Regional Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.”
“A third victim, a 16-year-old male, was transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center and later flown to Phoenix with non-life-threatening injuries.”
“The other gunshot victims, males aged 15, 19, 18 and 16, had non-life-threatening injuries. A total of 7 victims were treated at the YRMC.
“There were several off-duty police officers in the area who assisted with the incident.” This is an active investigation and no suspects are in custody at the time of this press release.’
This comes just days after 300 unprocessed migrants who had arrived in the border town were released by officials.
It is unclear if the shooting is related to recent border crossings by migrants.
Immigrants speak with U.S. Border Patrol agents in the early hours after entering Arizona from Mexico May 10, 2023 in Yuma, Arizona
The release of hundreds of migrants coincided with the end of Title 42 and the lifting of a Trump-era restriction designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The result was that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had held up to 28,000 migrants at its facilities, according to a local official, well beyond its capacity.
On Thursday, Yuma’s mayor announced that the CBP plans to release migrants in the city who had not yet been fully processed, though he insisted they had been “screened.”
Three white buses with blacked-out windows pulled into the Yuma Public Safety Training Facility near the city’s airport on Friday afternoon.
The location was a closely guarded secret, but was on hand to witness the release. According to an information document, 141 people were released.
Streams of people could be seen getting off the buses and being directed to a shaded waiting area where there was at least some protection from temperatures of 30C.
From there, it is understood they will be loaded onto buses that will take them to Phoenix.
Three white buses with blacked-out windows pulled into the Yuma Public Safety Training Facility near the city’s airport on Friday afternoon
Migrants were spotted boarding buses in Yuma, Ariz., coinciding with the end of Title 42 and the lifting of a Trump-era restriction meant to prevent the spread of COVID-19
Nearly 300 newly arrived migrants were released by officials in Yuma, Ariz., on Friday, showing how difficult border towns are struggling to cope with a huge surge
A similar release of about 140 people followed in the morning at another location in Yuma and nearby San Luis.
Yuma County Supervisor Jonathan Lines said the trial was an admission that federal authorities just couldn’t handle.
“This is depressing and the federal government relies on local and state government to do their job,” he said.
“It is another failure by the Biden administration to address a problem it created with its open borders policy.”
A day earlier, Mayor Douglas Nicholls urged the people of Yuma to remain calm.
“These are people who have been screened at least to the point where border police have asked them to show papers anywhere in the country they live,” he said.
“You must follow the court case. Unfortunately, it takes three to seven years to complete this entire process.’
Title 42 was activated by the Trump administration to curb the spread of COVID-19. It was a public health measure that allowed border authorities to immediately deport arrivals before they could even apply for asylum.
But after the pandemic was over, it finally ended Thursday at midnight Eastern time.
The Biden administration rushed in new restrictions, effectively restoring Trump’s “transit ban,” which allows for the deportation of arrivals who have not sought asylum in the countries through which they have traveled.
Migrants can legally report at the border if they have pre-registered via the CBP One mobile app.
But a last-minute court challenge blocked plans to speed up the release of migrants from border guard detention.
Images that have emerged in the wake of the end of Title 42 have shed light on the sheer scale of migrants hoping to make their way to the US after pandemic-era border restrictions end.
A refugee camp that stretched two miles in length could be seen in the Mexican border town of Matamoros — suggesting that despite the Biden administration’s border protocol change on Thursday, thousands more people wanted to cross the border.
10,000 people have been stopped every day for the past few weeks as migrants rushed to cross before the system changed.