Things did not go well for a suspected burglar in El Paso, Texas. That burglar allegedly broke into an El Paso home in broad daylight, then shot a dog at the home. But, shortly after he allegedly shot the innocent dog, the thuggish alleged burglar was under fire from a furious resident who used his own handgun to teach the alleged burglar a lesson.
The alleged burglar is named Bruce Wayne Murphy. Murphy, a 29-year-old man, is accused of breaking into a Northeast El Paso home at about 9 a.m. on March 1. According to police, he opened fire on and wounded a dog after breaking into the home.
It was then that one of the three residents of the house who were inside it during the alleged break-in, 37-year-old Sean Patrick Suniga, fought back by opening fire. He used his own firearm to shoot at Murphy.
Murphy, though wounded by Suniga’s gunfire, managed to run from the house and to the nearby street. There he yelled that he had been shot and begged for help. He was transported to the hospital to a local hospital, but will be transported to the El Paso County Detention Facility after he is let out of the hospital. Police say that he is being held on a $500,000 burglary of habitation bond.
Fox 6 Now reports that “The Animal Cruelty Investigative Unit, crimes against persons detectives and other authorities all responded to the scene of the crime. The investigation into the matter is ongoing, according to police.”
KTSM reported a similar story about what happened, saying:
A shooting was reported on Wednesday March 1, at 8:56 a.m. on Gateway South and Broaddus, and according to El Paso Police department, 29-year-old Bruce Wayne Murphy was located in the middle of the intersection screaming for help saying he had been shot.
A second call was later received from 7500 Block of Howard in reference a home invasion. The victims, identified by EPPD, as 37-year-old Sean Patrick Suniga, 60-year-old Danny Russell Dennington and 32-year-old Danny Marshall Dennington told an individual matching Murphy’s description forced his way into their residence and shot a gun inside and in that course, shot their dog.
According to Northeast Patrol officers, Suniga told responding officers, he took his own handgun and fired back ta Murphy.
El Paso is struggling under the weight of the border crisis and mass migration invasion. The mayor of the city had to issue an emergency declaration in December of 2022 in response to the crisis, as the Texas Tribune reported, saying:
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El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser issued an emergency declaration Saturday night to address the increase in migrants crossing the southern border, citing the dangerous winter conditions and shelters lacking the capacity to meet the demand next week.
With the federal health order known as Title 42 — which was used during the COVID-19 pandemic to quickly expel migrants — set to expire Wednesday, El Paso officials hope to leverage the emergency declaration to unlock additional resources and expand available shelters for migrants as evening temperatures are forecast to drop below freezing in the coming week.
Leeser said the influx of migrants has strained the city’s resources, and his decision to make the declaration came as a response to protect those seeking asylum.