Border securityBullets fired from Mexico strike El Paso, Texas, city hall
The trend of criminal activity in Mexico spilling into the United States is steadily increasing — but this is new: seven bullets struck the ninth-floor office of Assistant City Manager Pat Adauto on the west side of the El Paso City Hall building; the gunfire may have been stray shots from Juarez, Mexico, on the other side of the border, police said; one of the bullets came through the wall and knocked over a picture frame; one city official: “Now that something like this has happened we’ll put in place more formal procedures so that if something like this occurs again we can have a major notification quickly throughout the building so people can move away from the windows”
The El Paso City Hall has been struck by bullets from the Mexican side of the border // Source: city-data.com
City officials in El Paso, Texas, said they were still in shock Wednesday, the day after bullets, possible fired across the U.S-Mexico border, struck City Hall. City Rep. Ann Morgan Lilly said she was preparing to leave her office to go home Tuesday when she heard about the shooting, the El Paso Times reported. “Of course, I’m in shock. My office is right there,” she said. “I won’t be hanging out or looking out the window. Hopefully it won’t happen again, but you never know.”
UPI reports that seven bullets struck the ninth-floor office of Assistant City Manager Pat Adauto on the west side of the building. The gunfire may have been stray shots from Juarez, Mexico, on the other side of the border, police said.
There were about five people in the office having a meeting Tuesday evening, City Manager Joyce Wilson told El Paso’s KFOX-TV. She said when they realized it was a bullet, they hit the floor and vacated the office.
One of the bullets came through the wall and knocked over a picture frame, the Times reported.
Another city representative says even though she was in another building, the shooting was disturbing. “I think the thing that’s really distressing is … that there’s weapons that can shoot that far and have that velocity,” Rep. Susie Byrd said.
Wilson said safety procedures would be put in place. “Now that something like this has happened we’ll put in place more formal procedures so that if something like this occurs again we can have a major notification quickly throughout the building so people can move away from the windows,” Wilson told KFOX-TV.
