7 killed, 12 injured after car rams crowd in Texas border town

HOUSTON, May 7 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people were killed and 12 others injured on Sunday after an SUV mowed down people near a shelter for the homeless and migrants in Brownsville, Texas, authorities said.

Lieutenant Martin Sandoval of Brownsville Police Department said the crash happened at around 8:30 a.m. local time (1330 GMT) when a Land Rover hit multiple people who were waiting at a bus stop across the street from Ozanam Center, a non-profit homeless shelter that has been helping house migrants. He said some migrants were among the dead and the driver was in custody.

"Seven individuals have been pronounced dead at the scene and 11 transported to local hospitals. One individual was airlifted to Valley Baptist Harlingen," the department said in a post on Facebook.

The detained male driver was charged with reckless driving and could face additional charges, Sandoval said.

He said that authorities are still investigating whether the crash was intentional or accidental and that witnesses described seeing the driver ignore a red light, mount a curb and run over the victims waiting at the bus stop.

Brownsville declared a state of emergency due to a surge of Venezuelan migrants in recent weeks.

The tragedy took place days before a Trump-era immigration restriction called Title 42 is set to expire. The policy allowed immigration officials to swiftly send migrants back to their home countries during the pandemic. It is anticipated that there will be an increase in immigration in the coming weeks once the restriction expires on Thursday.