2 police officers killed in shootout in a Texas border town

Two police officers responding to a domestic disturbance call were shot and killed Saturday by a man who later fatally shot himself in a Texas border town, authorities said.

McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez identified the slain officers as Edelmiro Garza, 45, and Ismael Chavez, 39. Garza was an officer with the Police Department for more than eight years while Chavez had more than two years of experience.

“We have lost two brave public servants who sought only to keep peace in our city,” Rodriguez, visibly distraught, told the McAllen Monitor newspaper.

The officers first met with two people who reported assaults inside a nearby home on the south side of the city around 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Rodriguez said. But the shooter, whom police identified as 23-year-old Audon Ignacio Camarillo, opened fire when officers attempted to enter the home.

“They were doing their job. That is what they were supposed to do. The person was a suspect of the incident, met our officers at the door, and shot at both officers,” Rodriguez said. “Both officers suffered fatal wounds; they have both passed away as a result. The officers never had a chance to suspect deadly assault on them, much less death.”

Camarillo shot and killed himself shortly after opening fire on the officers, Rodriguez said, adding that the suspect hid behind a vehicle after other officers responded to the scene. Camarillo had a few run-ins with police beginning in 2016, with his most recent arrest last month on assault charges, according to public records.

McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez is hugged by a Texas Ranger after a news conference near the scene of the fatal shooting.

(Delcia Lopez / Associated Press)

More details surrounding the domestic disturbance Garza and Chavez responded to were not immediately known. Rodriguez said the attack happened suddenly, and fellow police officers didn’t learn of the officers’ deaths until they arrived moments later.

Rodriguez said he doesn’t expect his department to get over the deaths of the fellow officers anytime soon.

“The next few days for us, moving forward as well, will be very, very difficult, for ourselves at the department and at the city of McAllen, but our strength will get us through,” the chief said. “We gather our strength from our police officers, and we gather our strengths from our colleagues, as you can see here.”

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who spoke with Rodriguez, offered the full backing of the state and expressed his support via social media.

“Two of our finest were killed in the line of duty while working to protect residents in their community,” Abbott wrote on Twitter. “We unite to #BackTheBlue.”

Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton tweeted that his office would provide the McAllen Police Department with any help needed.

“Our prayers and full support are with the valiant men and women of the #CityofMcAllen PD this evening,” the tweet read. “We are grateful for police in McAllen and around this great state.”

Democratic U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen said in a statement that receiving news of the two officers’ deaths was “devastating.”

“This is devastating news to our community. My heart breaks for these fallen officers and their families,” Gonzalez said. “They served McAllen bravely and honorably and I will keep them in my prayers.”

Rodriguez said that while the police are “weakened for the moment,” he expects a resilient law enforcement community to persevere.

“The strength and the resolve we have to serve our communities, all of us here, will allow us to do what we do every day,” Rodriguez said.

Law enforcement from several cities in Hidalgo County gathered Saturday evening at McAllen Medical Center to honor Garza and Chavez. More than 50 police cars were part of a procession that accompanied the bodies of the officers, who were taken to Hidalgo County pathology for an autopsy.