A West Texas man was killed early Sunday morning in the Mexican border city of Ojinaga in what local authorities on Tuesday described as a “random” shooting.
20-year-old Alan Valenzuela — a U.S. citizen from Presidio, Texas — was visiting an establishment in the Mexican city just south of the border with a group of friends when he was “tragically struck by random gunfire,” the Presidio County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post.
“He was innocently spending time in a town that many Presidio residents and tourists frequent,” the sheriff’s office wrote. “This senseless act leaves many unanswered questions about how and why this tragedy occurred.”
The shooting apparently happened sometime between late Saturday night and early Sunday morning.
“On July 6 at 3:41 a.m. a vehicle arrived from Mexico transporting an unconscious male,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection Spokesperson Landon Hutchens said in a statement. “A security officer at the Presidio Port of Entry who also works for Presidio Emergency Medical Services assessed the man and found no pulse.”
Presidio police officers arrived shortly thereafter and Valenzuela was pronounced dead at the scene by a local justice of the peace.
The local sheriff’s office offered its “heartfelt condolences and prayers” to Valenzuela’s friends and family.
“Alan will be remembered as a caring and loving young man from Presidio, and he will be greatly missed by the community,” the sheriff’s office said, adding that it will seek “any and all information related to this act of violence across the border through state and U.S. federal resources.”
In an interview, Presidio County Judge Jose Portillo — the county’s top elected official — said that, while he had not been fully briefed on the ongoing investigation, his understanding was that Valenzuela had been visiting Ojinaga with a group of friends who were also from Presidio.
“I think they were just out doing what boys do on a Sunday, hanging out, going to clubs,” Portillo told Marfa Public Radio.
The judge, who knew Valenzuela and some of his family members, described him as a “good kid” from a “God-fearing family.”
“Very well-rounded kid, very loved,” he said. “It’s just a tragedy.”
Stressing that he was only speculating, Portillo said he believed that the men were caught up in drug cartel-related violence that has spiked in the Ojinaga area over the past year.
“Knowing these boys, it’s just the wrong place at the wrong time,” Portillo said. “I think this is just the continuation of the struggles in Mexico of control of the plaza.”
Presidio Mayor John Ferguson, who used to work at Presidio High School as a counselor, told Marfa Public Radio that Valenzuela was a “real well-liked kid, talented.” Valenzuela graduated from the high school in 2023, Ferguson said.
As an investigation continues, Portillo expressed concern that multiple days had gone by without a statement on the incident from Mexican authorities or coverage of the incident in the Mexican press.
“There’s been no acknowledgment that this incident occurred and that a U.S. citizen was killed,” he said. “That’s a concern for me.”
This is a developing story and may be updated.
