Breaking News! Texas National Guard Member Assigned to Operation Lone Star in Eagle Pass, Texas Dies of Suspected Suicide
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2022
A Texas National Guard member assigned to Governor Greg Abbott’s controversial Operation Lone Star in Eagle Pass, Texas is suspected of having committed suicide with his service-issued M-4 carbine rifle on Tuesday, October 4, 2022, according to reliable sources.
Governor Greg Abbott issued a press release on Tuesday, October 4, 2022 acknowledging the death of a Texas National Guard soldier from “a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Eagle Pass.”
The tragic incident is under investigation by the Texas Rangers together with local law enforcement authorities. If confirmed that it was indeed a suicide, the victim will become the fifth Texas National Guard member suspected of committing suicide while working in the controversial Operation Lone Star as well as the 10th overall Texas National Guard member to have died since inception of the mission in March 2021.
In addition to Texas National Guard members dying during Operation Lone Star, other law enforcement officers such as from the Texas Department of Public Safety have died while on duty as well as suspected smugglers and migrants arising from high speed chases. The total death count resulting from Operation Lone Star is considerable when all related incidents are tallied.
Since its inception in Mach 2021 by Governor Greg Abbott, Operation Lone Star has been plagued with poor morale problems among participants from the Texas National Guard, DPS, and other law enforcement agencies, operational problems, and cost overruns. The 87th Texas Legislature approved over $4 Billion in state taxpayer monies to fund border security, including Operation Lone Star.
This is a developing story. More details will be reported as they become available.
