At least eight people were killed and several others injured on Sunday when an SUV ran a red light and ploughed into a group waiting at a bus stop outside a migrant aid centre in the US state of Texas, police said.
\nLaw enforcement said they were treating the incident as an accident for now, although a witness told AFP the driver had yelled insults at the group before accelerating.
\nThe grey sport utility vehicle \u201cwent through a red light and ran over several people\u201d at around 8:30 am (1330 GMT) in Brownsville, a border city at the southernmost tip of the state, police spokesman Martin Sandoval told AFP.
\nHe said seven people died and \u201cnearly 10\u201d others were injured. US media later reported that one person had died from their injuries at a local hospital.
\nWitness Luis Herrera, whose arm was hurt in the incident, told AFP the crash was \u201csudden.\u201d
\n\u201cA woman went by in a car and warned us to get out of the way,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cIt was a matter of moments. The killer came (through) in the car, gesturing at us, insulting us,\u201d the 36-year-old Venezuelan said. Herrera then described the driver as accelerating the car with full force.
\nThe motorist, whom Sandoval said was also taken to the hospital, was detained by witnesses until police arrived. He has been charged for now with reckless driving.
\n\u201cMore than likely there\u2019s going to be other charges coming on later,\u201d Sandoval earlier told a local ABC affiliate, without clarifying what the additional charges might be.
\nPolice still had not publicly identified the driver by late Sunday evening, though a news conference was planned for Monday morning.
\nAuthorities have launched an investigation into whether the fatal crash was an accident or intentional, Sandoval said.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re looking (into it),\u201d he told AFP.
\nIntense
\nThe victims were among a crowd of about 25 people waiting at a bus stop, according to Victor Maldonado, the executive director of the Ozanam Centre, a homeless shelter across the street from the crash.
\nThe group, whom he said were all Venezuelan, had just eaten breakfast at the facility. He described a grisly scene, with body parts left behind along the street.
\nWitnesses were \u201creally shocked,\u201d Maldonado told AFP. \u201cIt was pretty intense.\u201d
\nThe homeless centre is open 24 hours per day, Maldonado said, as \u201cwe\u2019ve been housing individuals coming from Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, China, Ukraine \u2014 and multiple Venezuelans,\u201d he added.
\nSandoval said at least some of the victims were migrants but could not confirm whether they all were.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s something that we are investigating with border police,\u201d he said.
\nTexas Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, a Democrat whose district includes Brownsville, said on Twitter he was \u201cpraying for all those involved in this horrific incident.\u201d
\nThe news of the tragedy comes as authorities brace for the lifting on Thursday of a Donald Trump-era federal policy that allows border patrol officers to deport or turn away migrants without even accepting their asylum applications.
\nThe looming expiration of the rule known as Title 42 has authorities fearing a spike in undocumented migrants entering the United States.
\nIt also comes a day after a shooter killed at least eight people at a shopping mall, also in Texas, in the latest mass shooting to rock the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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