Authorities in Mission, Texas, are investigating whether a local 72-year-old homeowner shot a migrant immediately after he illegally crossed the border from Mexico. The apparent victim was part of a human smuggling group which allegedly tried to hide from U.S. Border Patrol agents.

The shooting took place this week in the southern part of Mission, near the intersection of Beatty and Main Streets, local TV station KRGV reported. The scene of the shooting is less than half a mile from the banks of the Rio Grande.

A group of about 12 individuals who were allegedly part of a human smuggling attempt crossed the river from Mexico and were in the process of avoiding Border Patrol agents, Mission Police Chief Robert Dominguez told KRGV. Three men from the group were knocking on the door of a home when the 72-year-old owner answered. When confronted by the migrants, the homeowner reacted out of fear by firing one shot from a pistol, the police chief said. Investigators questioned the man but it remains unclear if authorities will press criminal charges. A 25-year-old male was taken to a local hospital for surgery.



The scene of the shooting is less than three miles west from an area where Breitbart News encountered several groups of migrants shortly after crossing the river. Most of the migrants crossing into the Mission area generally look for Border Patrol agents to surrender and request asylum processing. It remains unclear why the group was apparently avoiding federal authorities prior to the alleged gunfire.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook . He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com .