Related Articles
-Editorial
The Calexico Police Department responded to a tragic incident this morning in the parking lot of the One Stop establishment. Shortly after 8:58 a.m., officers were dispatched following reports of a male and female injured.
According to witnesses, a female individual entered the One Stop establishment, stating her husband was outside, and then exited. A second witness reported hearing a loud noise and subsequently discovered the female seated in her vehicle and a male individual just outside the vehicle. Both individuals sustained gunshot wounds.
Tragically, the female succumbed to her injuries at the scene. Responding officers provided immediate assistance to the male individual until paramedics arrived. He was transported to Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Brawley, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Additional resources were mobilized to support the investigation, including members of the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigations Unit, the Coroner’s Office, the Imperial County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigations, and the U.S. Border Patrol.
This remains an ongoing investigation. As such, further information will be provided at a later time. The Calexico Police Department asked for privacy for the families involved until formal notifications can be made by the appropriate authorities.
“Our thoughts and condolences are with the families affected by this tragic event,” said a spokesperson for the Calexico Police Department.
A witness recounted the moments they experienced during the violent incident at the Calexico One Stop Center on social media. “I was there,” the account began, “I tried to help a man who had blood on his shirt. I thought he had been mugged since he was on the ground leaning against a car with the door of a truck open.”
The witness, whose identity will remain anonymous, approached the man to offer assistance. “I asked him what had happened. I saw blood on his shirt and thought it was from his nose, but when I looked at his face, I saw he was barely breathing and had no blood on his face. Then I noticed his shirt was torn a little higher up, from where the blood was coming. I thought he had been mugged and stabbed,” the witness detailed.
Upon seeing the truck with the open door, the witness discovered an even more terrifying scene. “I saw a woman on the driver’s side, leaning towards the passenger side, with blood on her clothes. The woman was not moving,” the witness described. The situation became more tense when, upon standing up quickly, the witness saw a red gift bag on the ground. “I knocked it over with my knee, and there was a gun. The security guard shouted ‘a gun!’ while on the phone with 911. I backed away,” the witness explained.
The security guard, acting quickly, ran inside the One Stop. Within minutes, several police units arrived. “Then another person and a woman arrived, and she started pointing a gun at me,” added the witness. “They say there were three people; I only saw two. The man was still breathing,” the account concluded.
The Imperial County Executive Office announced a temporary interruption of services at the One Stop Business & Employment office located at 301 Heber Ave, Calexico, CA 92231, effective immediately. The office will remain closed through the end of the week. Services will continue to be available at the El Centro office located at 2799 S. 4th St, El Centro, CA 92243.
