Car crashes into crowd, at least 7 people dead

US At least seven people were killed when a car plowed into a crowd waiting for a bus in a southern Texas city.

Law enforcement said they were treating the May 7 incident as an accident, but a witness told AFP the driver had shouted insults at the group before speeding off.

The victims were standing in front of the Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center in Brownsville, the state’s southernmost city, a nonprofit shelter for the homeless and migrant workers.

The car that caused the accident at the scene in Brownsville, Texas, on the morning of May 7. Photo: AP

Local police spokesman Martin Sandoval said the car "ran a red light and ran over several people" at around 8:30 a.m., killing seven people and injuring about 10.

Witness Luis Herrera, 36, an immigrant from Venezuela, suffered an arm injury in the incident. He described how everything happened very suddenly. "A woman driving a car passed by and warned us to get out of the way," Herrera said. "In just a moment, the killer got into the car, made hand signals, and said insulting things to us." The driver then accelerated quickly.

The driver was restrained by witnesses until police arrived at the scene. He was charged with reckless driving.

"There will likely be other charges," police spokesman Sandoval told ABC News . Authorities have opened an investigation into whether the driver intentionally caused the accident, he added.

Across the street from the crash site, the victims were among a crowd of about 25 people waiting at a bus stop, according to Victor Maldonado, executive director of the Ozanam Center. The group, all Venezuelans, had just had breakfast at his establishment.

The incident comes as US officials on May 11 plan to rescind a federal policy from the Trump administration that allowed border patrol officers to deport or reject migrants without considering their asylum claims. The repeal of the rule has raised concerns that it could lead to a surge in undocumented migrants entering the US.

Previously, on May 6, also in Texas, an attacker opened fire at the Allen Premium Outlets shopping center in Allen, Collin County, killing 8 people.

Vu Hoang (According to AFP )

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