Shootout on border prompts U.S. authorities for 1st time ever to close a highway that runs along the border in El Paso, Texas
Doug Mosier, a spokesman for the Border Patrol, said Paisano Street was closed “in the interest of public safety.” He said that to his knowledge, it was the first time a street in El Paso has been shut down because of a shooting in Mexico.
A gunbattle erupted between Mexican police and gunmen near the Rio Grande on Saturday, killing one person and prompting U.S. authorities to close a highway that runs along the border in El Paso, Texas.
There were no reports of bullets crossing into the U.S. side, El Paso police Detective Mike Baranyay said.
The gunmen attacked a municipal police patrol on a boulevard in Ciudad Juarez next to the border river, said Ramon Salinas, a spokesman for Mexico’s federal police.
The fighting escalated when federal police rushed to help, he said. One gunman was killed and three municipal police officers were wounded.
El Paso police closed that city’s border highway for about 30 minutes because of the shooting. City police said the U.S. Border Patrol asked for the shutdown.
Doug Mosier, a spokesman for the Border Patrol, said Paisano Street was closed “in the interest of public safety.” He said that to his knowledge, it was the first time a street in El Paso has been shut down because of a shooting in Mexico.
Read full story
