Eight Die As Car Rams Into Crowd in US
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Eight people have been killed in the state of Texas, the United States after a car struck a group at a bus stop close to a shelter for the homeless and migrants.
The incident happened in the city of Brownsville near the Mexican border at about 08:30 local time on Sunday.
BBC said at least five other people have been injured with some of them being in critical condition.
The driver has been arrested and charged as Brownsville police said it is not clear whether the incident was intentional.
Earlier US media reports quoted police as saying it appeared to be a deliberate attack.
The director of the nearby Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center, Victor Maldonado, disclosed that surveillance footage showed an SUV running a red light and approaching the bus stop at speed.
The vehicle then hit the curb and flew about 200ft (60m) – hitting those in its path.
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Maldonado said that nearly half an hour before the incident, a group of around 20 people who had been staying at the centre left and walked over to wait at the bus stop.
He earlier told the Associated Press that most of the victims were Venezuelan men.
Some had intended to catch a local bus downtown to link up with other buses heading to different parts of the US, for which they already had tickets.
“All the staff and myself, we’re trying to hold it together,” Mr Maldonado said tearfully.
“A lot of the folks that we have here are mums with kids, and single males. Right in front of their eyes, they were witnessing a tragedy.”
According to US border protection officials, the city of Brownsville has recently seen a sharp increase in illegal migrant arrivals.
