Teenager charged with murder during hand-to-hand fight at Texas mall

A 16-year-old who shot and killed a 17-year-old and wounded two others during a fight between two gangs at a mall in El Paso, Texas has been charged with murder and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. , police said Friday.

The suspect himself was shot dead by an armed bystander as he fled a melee February 15 at the Cielo Vista mall, authorities said. Police said the suspect, who was transferred to the juvenile supervision department, was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday.

Police said the suspect used a handgun that was reportedly stolen.

The suspect allegedly opened fire after the confrontation between the two groups escalated into a fight. Police said he fatally shot 17-year-old Angeles Zaragoza and wounded another 17-year-old boy, as well as a 20-year-old man who was part of his own group.

He then allegedly ran towards a passerby and others, pointing a gun in their direction, and was shot dead by a passerby.

A bystander and an on-duty store security officer helped treat the suspect and other injured people, police said.

Police said the three counts of aggravated assault involved two of the wounded and an 18-year-old woman who was unharmed. According to preliminary data, a minor pointed a gun at her.

As reported by the police immediately after the shooting, two people were detained. On Friday, they clarified that the two were a juvenile suspect and the injured 20-year-old, but the investigation determined that the latter was not involved in criminal responsibility and should not have been charged.

As of Friday, only one person remained in the hospital, injured in the incident. A spokesman for the University Medical Center El Paso said the patient’s condition is stable.

The shooting took place in a busy shopping district and opposite a large parking lot at Walmart, where 23 people were killed in a 2019 racist attack on Hispanics.

El Paso, with a predominantly Hispanic population of about 700,000, lies on the border with Mexico, which is often crossed by residents of both countries.

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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