2 Fort Bliss men allegedly fired into crowd, killing 2, wounding 4 outside El Paso bar

Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times
·3 min read
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Two men from Fort Bliss are accused in a mass shooting that killed two people and wounded four others after allegedly firing into crowd in a parking lot outside a bar in Airway Plaza in East-Central El Paso.

Aaron John, 22, and Andrew James Williams, 20, were each booked on a charge of capital murder on Friday and remain at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown held on bonds of $2.5 million each, police officials said.

Detention hearings for both men that were to take place on Sunday morning were reset for later this week.

Aaron John is accused of capital murder in connection with a shooting that killed two people and wounded four others in the Airway Plaza parking lot on July 13 in El Paso.
Aaron John is accused of capital murder in connection with a shooting that killed two people and wounded four others in the Airway Plaza parking lot on July 13 in El Paso.

The deadly shooting occurred at 12:16 a.m. Thursday in the parking lot outside the Ditzy Duck bar at the Airway Plaza bar and restaurant area at 1160 Airway Blvd.

Homicide detectives with the Crimes Against Persons Unit obtained security camera footage showing an assault had taken place before "Williams and John both produced handguns and began firing into the crowd," police said in news release.

John appears to have a bruise under one eye in his jail booking photo.

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A description of the vehicle used by Williams and John was obtained by law enforcement and Military Police assisted in stopping the vehicle at the Constitution Gate to Fort Bliss, near the new William Beaumont Army Medical Center, police said.

A police news release listed the men as residing in Fort Bliss but officials have not said if they are members of the U.S. military.

Andrew James Williams is accused of capital murder in connection with a shooting that killed two people and wounded four others in the Airway Plaza parking lot on July 13 in El Paso.
Andrew James Williams is accused of capital murder in connection with a shooting that killed two people and wounded four others in the Airway Plaza parking lot on July 13 in El Paso.

An investigation by detectives resulted in the issuance of arrest warrants for Williams and John on capital murder charges.

Under Texas law, capital murder is punishable by life in prison without parole or the death penalty.

2 killed, 4 wounded in shooting outside El Paso bar

James Nicholson, 26, and Alexa Retana, 27, were killed in the shooting, police officials said. Nicholson died at the scene and Retana died at a hospital.

Police officials identified the other victims wounded in the shooting as: Jason Webb, 25, Sebastian Alexander Benecke, 30, Samuel Munoz, 27, and John Retana, 28. All the victims are from El Paso. They were hospitalized in undisclosed condition.

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"Our thoughts are with the families of the deceased and those who were injured. I understand multiple individuals were involved, including civilians and Fort Bliss soldiers," El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego said in a statement last week.

Samaniego, who is the top executive in county government, said that he discussed the situation with Maj. Gen. James P. Isenhower III, the commanding general of the 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss.

El Paso police investigate the scene of a shooting that killed two people and wounded four others on Thursday at Airway Plaza, 1160 Airway Blvd., an area of bars and restaurants in East-Central El Paso.
El Paso police investigate the scene of a shooting that killed two people and wounded four others on Thursday at Airway Plaza, 1160 Airway Blvd., an area of bars and restaurants in East-Central El Paso.

There have been numerous cases over the years of Fort Bliss soldiers involved in gun violence while out at bars and night spots in El Paso.

Last October, U.S. Army Pvt. Craig Trevion Gooding, who was 19 at the time, allegedly killed Army Staff Sgt. Jewllian Maurer, 29, in a shooting that wounded three other people after a person was kicked out of the EP Clubhouse nightclub in the parking lot of Sunrise Village shopping center, 8500 Dyer St. in the Northeast.

According to El Paso County Jail records, Gooding was released from jail on a $250,000 surety bond in late October and is awaiting trial on a murder charge. No trial date has been set.

The El Paso Police Department continues its investigation into the Airway mass shooting. Anyone with information may call the police nonemergency line at 915-832-4400 or may anonymously call Crime Stoppers of El Paso at 915-566-8477 (TIPS).

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: 2 Fort Bliss men allegedly fired into crowd in El Paso shooting