West Texas Jail Warden, Brother Arrested On Charges Of Shooting 2 Migrants, Killing 1

The warden of a federal prison in West Texas and his brother were arrested Tuesday in connection with the shooting of two migrants, one of whom died, according to multiple reports.

Texas Rangers arrested Mike Thomas Sheppard, the warden of the private West Texas Detention Center in Sierra Blanca, and Mark Sheppard on Thursday. The pair, both 60, are accused of shooting at a group of four migrants from a truck on Tuesday evening. 

The group was walking along a roadway south of Sierra Blanca before stopping at a water tank. A pickup approached the group, two men emerged and then opened fire as the migrants tried to hide behind the tank, according to court documents obtained by The New York Times .

One man was shot in the head and killed. A woman was shot in the stomach and taken to a hospital, where she is recovering.

The truck was registered to the private company that runs the West Texas detention center and was reportedly assigned to Mike Sheppard at the time, the Houston Chronicle reported . 

Both men were charged with manslaughter, according to the court filings. The FBI , U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations are assisting the Texas Department of Public Safety in the investigation, the Times added.

Mike Sheppard was fired shortly after his arrest.  

“The warden at West Texas Detention Center, Sierra Blanca, TX, has been terminated due to an off-duty incident unrelated to his employment,” a spokesman for the jail company told the San Antonio Express-News .

The facility houses migrants in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.