By TED HESSON, JASPER WARD and ANDREW HAY Reuters
Share this story

WASHINGTON — A 27-year-old Michigan man was shot dead by U.S. Border Patrol agents after opening fire with an assault rifle on a U.S. Border Patrol station in the southern Texas city of McAllen on Monday, local police said.

Ryan Louis Mosqueda fired dozens of rounds at the entrance of the facility shortly before 6 a.m. and agents returned fire, McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez told reporters.

ADVERTISING

A McAllen police officer was shot in the knee during the exchange of fire and was taken to hospital, Rodriguez said.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said a Border Patrol employee was also injured.

Law enforcement found additional assault firearms and more ammunition in Mosqueda’s Chevrolet passenger car, which was parked outside the facility, Rodriguez added.

“There were many, many, dozens of rounds fired by the suspect towards the building and agents in the building,” he said.

Writing, thought to be Latin, was spray-painted on the side of the vehicle, but Rodriguez said it did not give any indication of the motive for the attack.

Images from the scene showed “Cordis DIE,” a Latin phrase meaning “Heart Day,” written on the driver’s door of the white, two-door car. “Cordis Die” is also a fictional populist revolutionary movement in the “Call of Duty: Black Ops II” video game, according to fan websites.

Mosqueda is believed to have ties to the area and was reported missing at 4 a.m. from a residence in Weslaco, about 18 miles (29 kilometers) east of McAllen, Rodriguez said.

Mosqueda’s father was stopped for a traffic infraction at 3:48 a.m. in Weslaco and told police he was searching for his son, according to a report by local Telemundo station T40, citing Weslaco police.

Mosqueda’s father, Jose Mosqueda, told an officer his son had a “mental deficiency,” had not taken any medication and was carrying firearms in his vehicle, according to the T40 report.

Police identified the license plate of Ryan Mosqueda’s vehicle and alerted authorities, the report said.