Two Texans accidentally shot each other and then blamed undocumented migrants

Back in January, two men accidentally shot each other on a remote south Texas ranch, close to the Mexico border. 

Like not in the foot. Properly. One in the chest (really close to his heart) and one in the arm.

It wasn’t some glitch in a glock gone wrong or anything, but it was still a bit weird.

When police turned up to the scene they found hunting guide Walker Daughtery (26) and his client Edwin Roberts (59) wounded and bleeding, with another hunting guide Michael Bryant present. When trying to figure out what happened, the men told authorities that they suspected the shooters were undocumented immigrants they had seen on the ranch earlier in their trip. 

A family friend said the group were involved in a shoot-out with some illegal immigrants that were trying to steal his RV with Daughtery’s clients still inside it. 

The story caught the attention of Texas Commissioner of Agriculture (and Donald Trump ally) Sid Miller, who shared it on Facebook to push Trump’s rhetoric about Mexicans and immigration in general – stating “this is why we need the wall to secure our borders”. This is the same guy that called Hillary Clinton a c*** in a tweet, but he called Daughtery “a man of God and now a hero”.

After the alleged attack, a GoFundMe page set up to help pay for Daughtery's medical bills (as he is uninsured), raised over $26,000 (more than £20,000) before it was shut down. 

Except these ‘bad hombres’ didn’t exist.

Presidio County Sheriff Danny Dominguez said he had never seen violence like the alleged incident before. He said he was sceptical of the story from the beginning, and suggested the hunters were paranoid.

And now police and a grand jury have concluded the men were lying about the incident, and actually shot each other. Authorities say about 30 law enforcement officers searched the perimeter of the ranch where the hunters were staying, didn't find signs of people approaching the camp that night and that investigators found no evidence of 'cross-border violence'.

Investigators believe that Daughtery became paranoid that illegal immigrants were inside a vehicle with Mr Roberts and his wife and attempted to get inside without saying anything, prompting Mr Roberts to shoot at the door.

Daughtery then ran back to his cabin to grab his gun and to get backup from Mr Bryant, and together they opened fire on the truck. 

It is believed that Daughtery shot Roberts, his client, and Bryant shot Daughtery, his colleague.

Miller later deleted his post (after it was shared over 6,500 times), but people were quick to highlight to that he was spreading “fake news” and called it ironic that it was actually paranoia about border security, not a lack of border security, that led to the incident. 

Shots fired, literally.

Both Daughtery and Bryant are facing felony charges which could land them in jail for up to five years. 

Image: Walker Daughtery and his fiance