Texas Observer investigation of Sierra Blanca migrant shooting
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by Rob D'Amico
October 13, 2022, 10:26 AM, CDT
s darkness descended on a remote ranch in far West Texas, a migrant from Mexico sat bleeding from a shotgun blast to her stomach. She texted a farewell to her aunt: “I am dying. They shot me. Please don’t tell my mother. Everyone else is OK, except for one other guy that they shot. He’s dead, and I might be soon.”
Twin brothers Mike and Mark Sheppard, 60 years old and living in nearby Sierra Blanca, claimed in an affidavit to police they had been hunting out at a reservoir on the ranch on the evening of September 27 when Mike fired twice with a shotgun at what he said he thought was a javelina in the bushes. One migrant from Mexico, Jesús Sepúlveda Martinez, 22, was killed while another, Berenice Casias Carrillo, was hit in the stomach and hospitalized. The Sheppards were later arrested at their Sierra Blanca home 5 miles north for manslaughter, with additional charges later filed for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Residents of Sierra Blanca—a town of about 800 in far West Texas—interviewed by the Texas Observer painted a troubling picture of the Sheppard brothers, both of whom have been accused of racism and acts of violence. A nonprofit report and a lawsuit also reveal that, while working as a prison warden, Mike Sheppard faced allegations of racist and violent behavior toward Hispanics and Blacks. The failure of officials to act on these accusations fueled a hate crime that resulted in death, according to immigrant rights group RAICES.
While Governor Greg Abbott’s statement called the shooting a “tragedy,” families of the victims are demanding justice and say it was an intentional killing.
As authorities have kept tight-lipped about their investigation into the shooting, Democratic elected officials have said Republicans’ dehumanizing of immigrants contributed to the killing. They say that repeated calls by conservatives to label migrants invaders and criminals have created an atmosphere that puts targets on the backs of those crossing the border. In the gubernatorial debate on October 3, Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke said Abbott’s “hateful rhetoric” was responsible for the migrant’s death.
Other Democratic officials made the same assertion. “When you continuously use language like ‘invasion’ to describe what is happening at our border, the only logical conclusion is that you want migrants and asylum-seekers to be treated like ‘invaders,’” Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement.
“When you continuously use language like ‘invasion’ to describe what is happening at our border, the only logical conclusion is that you want migrants and asylum-seekers to be treated like ‘invaders.’”