A driver plowed his vehicle into a crowd of people at a bus stop near a shelter for migrants leaving 8 people dead and 10 injured. It happened Sunday in Brownsville, Texas. 

Shelter director Victor Maldonado said the SUV ran over the curb, flipped over and continued moving for about 200 feet. Some of the victims were migrants who had just left a shelter that assists people in need after they’ve crossed the border.
    
Maldonado, executive director of the Ozanam Center, said, “This SUV comes through, hits part of the curb and runs over everybody. A lot of our other guests got to witness this dramatic incident.”

The driver, described as a Hispanic man, was taken to the hospital for treatment. Police charged him with reckless driving and are looking to see if alcohol played a factor.

A witness says the driver was yelling insults before running the SUV toward the group.

Brownsville police investigator Martin Sandoval said, “He’s being very uncooperative at the hospital, but he will be transported to our city jail as soon as he gets released. Then we’ll fingerprint him and (take a) mug shot, and then we can find his true identity.”

About 2,500 migrants have crossed through the Rio Grande river daily into Brownsville in the past few days, a city commissioner said. 

Most of the victims in the SUV incident were reportedly Venezuelan men. Authorities said Brownsville has seen a surge of Venezuelan migrants over the last two weeks. On Thursday alone, 4,000 of the 6,000 migrants in Border Patrol custody in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley were Venezuelan.

The deadly incident comes as the federal Title 42 rule is set to expire this Thursday. Title 42 is the public health order to turn away migrants to prevent the spread of COVID.

When the policy ends, migrants may face stiffer penalties if they cross the border illegally.

The Biden administration says it has opened more facilities to process migrants, adding immigration officers and sending 1,500 troops to help with the expected influx of migrants.