Suspects in aggravated assault case near campus not located or identified 

Brownsville Police say no weapons involved

As of April 17, the suspects in an aggravated assault case near the UTRGV Brownsville campus had not been located, according to the Brownsville Police Department.

At 4:39 a.m. April 9, an emergency notification was sent to the campus community stating that the Brownsville Police Department “is actively looking for two suspects involved in an aggravated assault with weapon who were last seen on foot heading towards the [Texas Southmost College] Recreation Center.”

The suspects were described to be a man, wearing all black with tattoos and armed with a handgun, and a heavy-set woman with short hair, also wearing all black.

A second notification was sent at 5:20 a.m. stating the Police Department had concluded its search and that University Police were checking the campus. The notification also advised the community to keep doors locked, remain in place and that it would “advise when clear.”

The final update sent at 6:01 a.m., about two hours after the first, stated that University Police had completed its search of the campus and the suspects were not located, and asked the campus community to remain vigilant.

UTRGV Assistant Police Chief Van Slusser told The Rider that University Police was notified by the Brownsville Police Department that an aggravated assault occurred near the International Gateway Bridge.

“It was in a location nearby the Gateway International Bridge and it involved two suspects,” Slusser said. “One reportedly with a handgun and the other reportedly with a knife and they left the location of the assault and were last seen in the area of the TSC [Recreation] Center.”

He also said University Police assisted in searching the area in and around campus for the suspects, who were not located.

“So, after the active search was complete, our department, we went ahead and checked all the buildings on campus and provided extra patrol in the Casa Bella [Apartments] dormitory area just to make sure everything was OK,” Slusser said. “It was during night time hours on the weekend, so all of the buildings had already been locked up. But we went through an additional time and made sure that everything was still secure the way that it should have been.”

Brownsville Police Department Public Information Officer Martin Sandoval told The Rider that, to his understanding, the suspects “assaulted a person underneath [the Gateway International Bridge]” and took off running toward the TSC campus.

“They were not located,” Sandoval said. “As far as we know, according to the victim, the victim said he did not see any weapons on the subjects.”

The Rider asked Sandoval about previous information provided by University Police stating the suspects were armed, to which he clarified the information could have been provided during the initial call about the assault.

“The initial call that came in was that one subject had a gun, one subject had a knife,” he said. “So, officers went to location. One made contact with the victim while others searched the area. And I believe that’s where the whole misconception happened because an officer made contact with a UTRGV officer and says, ‘Hey, this is what we’re looking for.’ So, once they finished talking to the victim, it was determined that it was just a … strong-arm robbery.”

As of April 17, Brownsville detectives are still trying to identify the suspects and get a composite of them. 

Slusser told The Rider the best thing to do in case a campus community member believes they have spotted a suspect is to contact University Police.

“And, of course, don’t ever approach anybody that you think could be a suspect of a crime,” he said. “The easiest way to do that is to download the CampusShield app, of course, ahead of time. But that will allow them to reach directly with our dispatch via voice call or text. Or they can send us photos all through that CampusShield app. And that’s available for Android and Apple phones. It’s free of charge. All they have to do is go to wherever they download apps, search for CampusShield, and then they sign up through their UTRGV email credentials.’’

Slusser said the case highlights that University Police are always on duty and available to help the campus community.

“We do have officers and police department personnel on duty 24/7. Our dispatch center [is] 24/7, and also our officers on scene,” he said. “This happened really early in the morning on Easter and we always have personnel available to keep the campus community safe.”