U.S. Border Patrolman and Family Member Both Dead after Family Dispute Escalates into Gunfire
Multiple gunshots broke the quiet silence of a peaceful and sunny afternoon at the Aztec Apartments in Eagle Pass causing neighbors and passers-by to seek shelter from the barrage of gunfire emanating from inside 880 Bibb Avenue, and in the end resulting in the deaths of two men, one being a United States Border Patrol officer.
Eagle Pass Police Chief Juan Antonio Castañeda in an interview with the Eagle Pass Business Journal announced that United States Border Patrolman, Alejandro Acevedo, and a cousin of his wife living with the couple, Omar Olivares, had a heated dispute on Monday, September 19, 2011, at approximately 2:55 P.M. at the Acevedo’s apartment located at 880 Bibb Avenue in Eagle Pass which escalated into gunfire causing the deaths of both Omar Olivares, age 26, and Alejandro Acevedo, age 28.
Police Chief Castañeda stated that two minor children of Alejandro Acevedo were present inside the apartment when the dispute escalated into gunfire.
Castañeda added that Alejandro Acevedo broke the second floor bedroom window to speak to Eagle Pass Police Officers arriving at the scene and told them to send help inside the apartment because there was a man shooting at him while attempting to protect his children from being harmed.
Castañeda stated Alejandro Acevedo was able to get out of the second floor bedroom and opened the front door walking several steps outside the apartment before collapsing from multiple gunshot wounds. Acevedo was immediately transported by ambulance to the Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center.
Shortly thereafter, the Eagle Pass Police SWAT Team entered the apartment with a bullet-proof shield and proceeded to the second floor where they found the body of Omar Olivares inside the bathroom with multiple gunshot wounds, too.
Both Acevedo and Olivares were transported to the Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center Emergency Room for medical treatment.
According to Maverick County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4, Tere Melendrez, Omar Olivares passed away at 4:20 P.M. while undergoing surgery.
Acevedo was critically injured with multiple gunshot wounds and passed away shortly after 7 P.M. from cardiac arrest while undergoing surgery.
The two Acevedo minor children miraculously were not hit by any of the more than 35 rounds of gunshot shells found inside the apartment, and were returned to their mother, who was at work during the tragic incident. A third Acevedo child was at school during the incident and is unharmed.
The City of Eagle Pass Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, (FBI), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the United States Border Patrol are investigating the incident.
As of press time, it is unknown which adult opened fire first and the exact nature of their dispute which caused them to engage in a gunfire battle.
What is known is that Omar Olivares was a cousin of Alejandro Acevedo’s wife and had been living with the couple and their children for almost a year at the 880 Bibb Avenue apartment. Acevedo and Olivares were both originally from El Paso, Texas.
The tragic incident is being thoroughly investigated by the appropriate law enforcement authorities.
