2 Chick-fil-A employees killed by illegal immigrant in Texas restaurant: 'Our hearts are broken'
A Chick-fil-A restaurant in Texas has been temporarily closed after two employees were shot and killed inside the fast-food establishment by an immigrant in the country unlawfully from El Salvador. Authorities do not believe the double homicide was a random act of violence.
Police responded to the restaurant located on the 5300 block of North MacArthur Boulevard in Irving around 4 p.m. after receiving several calls about a shooting, Irving Police Department Officer Anthony Alexander told NBC DFW.
Police confirmed that the shooting occurred inside the building, where the two victims were pronounced dead at the scene.
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The suspect fled the scene in a 1997 Honda four-door sedan but has been identified as 37-year-old Oved Bernardo Mendoza Argueta, who is married to a restaurant employee who witnessed the crime and identified Mendoza Argueta as the perpetrator. He was booked into the Irving City Jail in the early hours of Thursday morning and charged with capital murder. Authorities believe Mendoza Argueta's actions were targeted and were not a random act of violence.
Mendoza Argueta was placed on an immigration detainer by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which serves as a notice that ICE intends to assume custody of an individual.
An ICE spokesperson told the New York Post that its Enforcement and Removal Operations in Dallas "lodged an immigration detainer with the Irving Police Department on Mendoza."
"Detainers are critical for ICE to be able to identify and ultimately remove criminal aliens who are currently in federal, state or local custody," ICE states on its website. "ICE relies on the cooperation of our state and local law enforcement partners in this effort."
One victim was identified on Thursday as 49-year-old Patricia Portillo, according to an arrest affidavit cited by FOX 4. The other victim was identified as 31-year-old Brayan Alexis Godoy, according to a Friday update from CBS News Dallas.
"Our hearts are broken by the tragedy that unfolded inside our restaurant Wednesday," the local Chick-fil-A owner-operator said in a statement. "We will miss our two team members dearly. Right now, our focus is on providing care for our team and the victims' families."
According to Chick-fil-A's website, the Irving-Las Colinas establishment has been temporarily closed. It is uncertain when it will reopen.
Earlier this month, 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray was strangled to death by two illegal immigrants in Houston. ICE told media outlets that the two suspects, Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel and Franklin Pena, illegal immigrants from Venezuela, had previously been detained and released by U.S. Border Patrol just weeks before the child's murder.
"Martinez and Pena both illegally entered the U.S. without inspection, parole or admission by a U.S. immigration officer on an unknown date and at an unknown location," an ICE statement shared with media outlets reads. "On March 14, Martinez was apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol near El Paso, Texas. That same day he was released on an order of recognizance with a notice to appear. Pena was apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol on May 28 near El Paso. He was also released on an order of recognizance with a notice to appear the same day he was apprehended."
Critics, including former President Donald Trump, have placed blame on President Joe Biden's border policies.
"We have a new Biden Migrant Killing — It's only going to get worse, and it's all Crooked Joe Biden's fault," Trump posted on Truth Social last week.
