An off-duty customs officer could be facing murder charges after he allegedly shot and killed the owner of a Mission nightclub with his department-issued weapon.
The fatal shooting happened at El Punto Tres Ballroom off Mile 3 on Conway Avenue near Mission around 1:30 a.m. Monday.
The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office deputies told Action 4 News that 200 to 250 people were trying to leave the scene when investigators arrived.
A Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) state trooper was holding two men at gunpoint.
Deputies said one of those two men was an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer.
The customs officer's identity has not been released but he told deputies he had his department-issued H&K 40-caliber handgun and that he shot someone in front of the club.
The customs officer told deputies that he had been chased out of the bar by a group of men.
The off-duty customs officer said he thought nightclub owner Fermin Limon was going to shoot him, so he shot fired his weapon first.
Limon was taken to a local hospital where he died from a gunshot wound to the chest and leg.
Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said there were dozens of witnesses to the shooting and that deputies anticipate filing murder charges agianst the customs officer.
Sheriff Treviño said deputies could not locate a weapon that could of been used by Limon but believe he handed it off to somebody after being shot.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKGBT