In a call with The Texan, Kleberg County Chief Deputy Jaime Garza, who personally responded to the incident, confirmed that no one was injured and that there was an “overwhelming amount of police presence” on scene, including Department of Public Safety officers and Kenedy County deputies.
“One of the things that we encounter, any time in my past career, is any injured officer or any officer needing assistance, it’s like awakening a sleeping giant,” Garza said.
Two buses were reportedly traveling on Texas Highway 77 approximately 25 miles south of the Kleberg County seat, Kingsville, when the incident took place at about 4:30 p.m.
“Well I believe in an attempt to abscond into the brush or leave the area these individuals were able to assault federal agents on the bus in an attempt to escape,” Kirkpatrick told local media.
“I think it was at that point when the driver was able to pull over, that’s when they were able to get and force the door open and abscond off the bus.”
The sheriff added, “Nevertheless, this is just a continued case in point of an extremely volatile situation that is getting out of control. As we go forward with this type of continuing thing as the border crisis unfolds.”
While some of the detainees were able to get away, they were ultimately captured and placed on a more secure bus to finish their trip to Brownsville.
As for Chief Deputy Garza, he indicated he’s thankful that there were no injuries during the fracas.
“[W]e’re very grateful there was a good result from this. It’s good to know that there is a brotherhood of law enforcement,” Garza said.
He added, “Nobody got hurt, that means yesterday was a good day.”
Del Rio was inundated with thousands of Haitian illegal aliens last week following the federal government’s suspensions of deportations to the Caribbean country. The feds have since resumed deportation flights.
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Hayden Sparks
Hayden Sparks is a senior reporter for The Texan and a lifelong resident of the Lone Star State. He has coached competitive speech and debate and has been involved in politics since a young age. One of Hayden's favorite quotes is by Sam Houston: "Texas has yet to learn submission to any oppression, come from what source it may."