The owner of a Texas Chick-fil-A confirmed that two employees were killed Wednesday in a shooting incident in Irving.
“Our hearts are broken by the tragedy that unfolded inside our restaurant Wednesday. We will miss our two Team Members dearly,” the owner-operator of Chick-fil-A Las Colinas said in a statement.
“Right now, our focus is on providing care for our Team and the victims’ families. I want to thank the Irving Police Department for their professionalism and compassion. We will continue working closely with them as they conduct their investigation.”
SUSPECT IN DEADLY TEXAS CHICK-FIL-A SHOOTING IN US ILLEGALLY, ICE CONFIRMS
Authorities have arrested an illegal immigrant suspected in the deadly Texas shooting that left two dead inside the fast-food restaurant on Wednesday.
Oved Bernardo Mendoza Argueta, a 37-year-old citizen of El Salvador, is charged with capital murder of multiple persons after a shooting at a Chick-fil-A in the 5300 block of North MacArthur Boulevard in Irving, police announced.
“We can confirm that the suspect was taken into custody early this morning,” a spokesperson for Irving Police Department told Fox News Digital on Thursday morning, adding that Mendoza Argueta has an “ICE hold,” with the warrant agency being Immigration and Naturalization Service Dallas/Fort Worth.
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An ICE spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital that the agency’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Dallas “lodged an immigration detainer with the Irving Police Department on Mendoza.” Such detainers are for noncitizens accused of a crime and who have been apprehended by police.
The shooting happened around 3:40 p.m., according to an arrest warrant that identified one of the victims as Patricia Portillo. The document states Mendoza Argueta is the spouse of a Chick-fil-A employee who was a witness and “identified the defendant with certainty.”
Police say the second victim’s name was redacted from the document due to next-of-kin notification needing to be made.
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During the manhunt, police released a photograph of Mendoza Argueta alongside a picture of the 1997 Honda 4-door car he was last seen driving.
An official said they believed the shooting was “a targeted incident and that this was not a random act of violence.”
Argueta is being held in the Irving City Jail awaiting arraignment, police said.
Fox News Digital’s Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report.
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