'Crime never stops.' Departing El Paso FBI leader Jeffrey Downey talks of threats, closure

El Paso law enforcement agencies have improved preparation, coordination and teamwork to respond to mass shooting threats because of lessons learned from the Walmart massacre, the head of the local FBI division said.

El Paso FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey R. Downey is departing for his third tour in Washington, D.C. as part of the FBI leadership team in the finance division.

Downey recently sat down with the El Paso Times to discuss various topics and reflect on his two years leading the El Paso Division of the FBI, which stretches over the vastness of West Texas with satellite offices in Midland and Alpine.

"This is just a great community. Just really phenomenal people that are very welcoming and very, what I think is, very supportive of law enforcement," Downey said.

Downey's final day was Friday, Aug. 11, at the large office he supervised in El Paso. His replacement has yet to be formally announced but is expected in El Paso in the next month or so.

'I don't know if we will ever have closure'

Last month in U.S. district court, a convicted white supremacist from Allen, Texas, was sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms in prison for the anti-Latino, racially-motivated murders of 23 people and wounding of dozens more at the Walmart store near Cielo Vista Mall on Aug. 3, 2019.

"It was good to see the resolution — at least from the federal perspective," Downey said.

The now 25-year-old confessed killer could still face the death penalty on a Texas capital murder charge pending in state court.

The mass shooting deeply impacted El Paso and the greater Latino community nationwide.

"It also had a significant impact on our men and women (in the FBI) who worked that investigation and also went and helped process the scene," Downey said.

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"I don't know if we will ever have closure," Downey said regarding the shooter's life sentence. "I do think it brings some level of closure hopefully to the community and certainly to the victims' families."

In the years following the Walmart massacre, law enforcement in El Paso at the local, state and federal level has become better prepared for the "next critical incident," Downey said,

Downey pointed to the quick law enforcement response to a shooting involving teenagers at the Cielo Vista Mall food court in February. Even though it wasn't a mass shooting, a 17-year-old boy was killed and a 16-year-old boy was arrested on a murder charge in a case of gun violence that reignited community anxieties of the Walmart attack.

"I think the lessons learned from both Walmart and the tabletop exercise that we did, prepared us as law enforcement to response and assist the El Paso Police Department in the Cielo Vista shooting," Downey said.

FBI investigations, threats continue

The work of the FBI in El Paso and across West Texas is continuous. "Unfortunately, crime never stops," Downey commented.

After reviewing trends, the FBI El Paso Division increased resources to investigate public corruption and cyber crimes, Downey said, declining to discuss current investigations.

"So, we have a lot of cases that unfortunately we can't talk about, but you'll be reporting on them in some point in time," Downey told an El Paso Times reporter.

Downey did say that the FBI investigation continues regarding twin brothers Michael and Mark Sheppard in connection with the fatal shooting of a Mexican migrant, Jesus Sepulveda, outside Sierra Blanca in Hudspeth County nearly a year ago.

"It remains an ongoing investigation by us and we are working with the U.S. Attorney's Office on that investigation," Downey said. "Unfortunately, I can't provide any other details on it because it is an ongoing investigation."

FBI, police and schools trying to stop online school threats

The FBI, police and school districts are increasing educational efforts at the start of the academic year warning students of the trouble they can get into by posting online school threats. Typically, those types of threats — whether real or hoaxes — emerge toward the end of the school year.

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In 2022, there were almost 6,000 school threats reported to the FBI nationwide, which was a 60% increase from 2021, the FBI said.

"As a parent of school-age children, I recognize the importance for us all to remain vigilant," Downey said. "We need to talk with our children about what is going on at school and ensure we report any threats or safety concerns to law enforcement and school officials immediately."

Border city misconceptions

Downey has been with the FBI for about 20 years, mostly working up and down the East Coast. He grew up in the Midwest in an FBI family, his father, Bill Downey, was an agent for 30 years. His assignment in El Paso was his first time living on the Southwest border.

"I think when I talk to people back home back in the East Coast and the Midwest and, after having been here on the ground, people have a misconception of what it's like to live in a border town," Jeffrey Downey said.

"I hear from so many people, 'Oh, El Paso must be so dangerous. There must be huge crime problems there.' I'm very quick to correct them. This is a wonderful community and it's a relatively safe community, but that doesn't mean we can let our guard down."

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Departing El Paso FBI SAC Jeffrey Downey talks of crime and closure