Lockdown lifted at Ft. Bliss, 700 lbs. marijuana, Texas first flu fatality
HOUSTON (FOX 26) - EL PASO, Texas (AP) — The lockdown has been lifted at an Army hospital near Fort Bliss in Texas, hours after a witness reported seeing an armed man. The William Beaumont Army Medical Center says gates to the hospital in El Paso will reopen soon. The hospital went on lockdown at noon, when a caller reported seeing a man outside toting two rifles. There were no reports of gunfire, and authorities are investigating if the witness may have seen someone who was part of the Color Guard or a ceremonial detail.
PHARR, Texas (AP) — More than 700 pounds of marijuana were allegedly discovered amid heads of fresh broccoli in the South Texas border city of Pharr. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents stopped a tractor-trailer with a commercial shipment of broccoli from Mexico on Tuesday, referring the vehicle for further inspection. A canine unit helped agents find 661 packages of marijuana valued at about $153,000 mixed in with the broccoli. The drugs, tractor-trailer and broccoli were seized.
DALLAS (AP) — A prestigious laboratory in Texas already under federal investigation after inspectors determined it didn't do enough to prevent the suffering of primates is facing more scrutiny. This time it's occurring after animals in another study were found dead. A U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector cited the Galveston National Laboratory last month with improper data collection and failure to promptly notify an attending veterinarian of an animal's death.
HOUSTON (AP) — A $4,000 payment from a tabloid TV show may have contributed to the fatal shooting in Houston of a man who was arrested last month for having sex on a Las Vegas Ferris wheel. Court documents related to the arrest this week of Bryant Watts and Aaron Jones for the March 19 slaying of 27-year-old Philip Panzica show one of the suspects either knew of the payment from the "Inside Edition" TV program or may have spotted some of the money in his fiancee's purse.
DALLAS (AP) — Dallas County public health officials say a 2-month-old child has become the state's first flu fatality for the 2015-2016 flu season. Specifics of the death were not disclosed Friday by Dallas County Health and Human Services.
BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A body found on a Mexican beach has been identified as a San Antonio-area teenager who went missing during spring break on South Padre Island. Cameron County Parks Police Chief Horacio Zamora tells the San Antonio Express-News that Justin Kirby Walker's parents went to Matamoros, Mexico, on Thursday and identified their 18-year-old son. His body was discovered on Wednesday. Zamora says Walker, from Fair Oaks Ranch, was last seen March 19 leaving a music event on South Padre Island. The cause and manner of his death remain under investigation. Zamora said Friday it's possible he could have fallen from a jetty into the Gulf of Mexico.