Two workers were reportedly shot and killed at a Chick-fil-A in Texas on Wednesday by a man identified as Oved Bernardo Mendoza Argueta, a 37-year-old from El Salvador. He allegedly opened fire in the restaurant in Irving around 3:40 p.m., resulting in the deaths of Patricia Portillo and another person, whose identity has not been released pending family notification.
Mendoza fled the scene in a silver 1997 Honda sedan but was later apprehended around 2:50 a.m. on Thursday. Irving police confirmed that Mendoza had an “ICE hold,” meaning Immigration and Customs Enforcement intended to take custody of him due to his immigration status.
Chick-fil-A expressed sorrow over the tragedy and stated their focus is on supporting their team members and the victims’ families. The restaurant thanked the Irving Police Department for their assistance in the ongoing investigation.
This incident follows other recent disturbing cases involving immigrants in the U.S. Just days earlier in Houston, 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray was allegedly assaulted and killed by two Venezuelan immigrants. Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, and Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, are accused of luring Jocelyn under a bridge, assaulting her, and then murdering her. They had reportedly been in the U.S. for only a few months before the incident.
In another tragic event earlier in New York City, a 13-year-old girl was raped in a park by an illegal immigrant from Ecuador. Christian Geovanny Inga-Landi, 25, allegedly held the girl and a boy at knifepoint, raped the girl, and took their phones before fleeing. He was later arrested thanks to community tips and the intervention of bystanders.
These incidents have sparked significant concern and debate about immigration policies and public safety across the country.