Investigators believe Presidio County ranch shooting was friendly fire, not border violence

UPDATE: A shocking development in a story CBS 7 first broke over the weekend.

Two hunters who were shot in a remote ranch along the Mexican-border in Presidio County claimed illegal immigrants ambushed them Friday night.

But it turns out investigators believe this was just a case of friendly fire among each other.

Presidio County Sheriff Danny Dominguez has been saying all along that there was no indication of cross border violence here.

He tells us the investigation shows that Walker Daughetry shot Edwin Roberts and another hunting guide in their group, Michael Bryant, shot Walker.

Their story made headlines across the country, a hunting guide and his client shot by illegal immigrants in the middle of the night.

The alleged attack captivated thousands of people after a family friend setup a GoFundMe account stating that Walker and his group were involved in a shoot out with some illegals that were trying to steal his RV with his clients still inside of it.

The account is to help pay for Walker’s medical bills since he is uninsured and has already raised over $23,000.

But those who donated maybe surprised to learn that Walker may have been the one who actually started the shoot out.

“By the looks of it right now, we believe that during the shooting, with all the commotion and confusion going on, we believe that Michael shot Walker and Walker had shot Edwin,” explained Sheriff Dominquez.

Here’s how investigators believe the shooting happened: Walker thought illegals were inside the RV that Edwin and his wife were in, in an attempt to kidnap them.

Instead of announcing himself, Walker allegedly tried opening the RV.

That’s when Edwin fired off a round from inside the RV missing Walker.

Walker immediately ran inside his cabin to grab his gun and to get backup from Michael.

With rumors of border violence spilling over from Mexico to the United States, Sheriff Dominguez believes this may have caused the hunters to be paranoid.

“I mean border patrol are experts in tracking in this area, we trust what they say because that’s all they do on a daily basis, and they didn’t find no sign, no indication that there was anybody in or out of that area that night,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez also says it took EMS nearly two hours to respond to the Circle Dug Ranch in Candelaria, but fortunately one of the men’s wife is a nurse and was able to keep both men from bleeding out.

Sheriff Dominguez wants ranchers and residents in the area to know they have nothing to fear at this time regarding any violence from across the border.

CBS 7 was able to speak with Walker’s fiancé over the phone who was at the ranch that night of the shooting.

She says she cannot comment on the case until it is completed, but did want to mention that they’ve experienced multiple encounters with illegals last month, and claims to have had hundreds of dollars worth of supplies stolen by them at the ranch.

According to Sheriff Dominguez, once the investigation is completed they will turn the case over to the District Attorney to decide if any charges will be handed down.

In the mean time, a ballistic test will be conducted to determine which guns the bullets came from.

However, Doctors were not able to retrieve the bullet from Walker because it’s too close to his heart to remove safely.

Although the area is well known for illegals crossing over the border, Dominguez has never seen violence like the one Walker’s group is claiming in their area.

"Chief Deputy Joel Nunez did an excellent job leading the investigation and coming to the conclusion where we're at now. His quick response was a major factor in this investigation," said Sheriff Dominguez.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ORIGINAL:

CBS 7's DeAnn Lopez spoke with Presidio County Sheriff Danny Dominguez to clarify a rumor concerning

.

The rumor concerns whether or not the shooters that injured 26-year-old Walker Daugherty and 59-year-old Edwin Roberts were illegal immigrants.

This past weekend Daugherty and his fiancé had two couples booked for what was expected to be a fun and memorable weekend alongside the Mexico border.

However, their trip was cut short once bullets started flying through one of the couple's RVs.

"The RV was targeted of course, but we're trying to determine who targeted the RV," said Sheriff Dominguez.

According to a family friend of Daugherty, Daugherty and another tour guide grabbed their guns, starting a shootout.

Daugherty was shot in the chest, and Edwin Roberts, still inside the RV, was hit in the arm.

Both Daugherty and his fiancé claim to have seen illegal immigrants from Mexico on the property before, and believe the shooters came from across the border.

Sheriff Dominguez says that as of Monday evening the investigation is still ongoing, and that there's no sufficient evidence of any border violence as of yet.

The investigation is literally covering all tracks to discover the next lead.

"There was no indication as far as tracks in or out of the perimeter according to Border Patrol," said Sheriff Dominguez "They are expert trackers, they really are, and I go with what they say."

Ballistic tests are currently being conducted to determine what guns the bullets came from, and Sheriff Dominguez hopes to get statements from both Daugherty and Roberts once they are out of surgery.

"After talking to them we will determine what really happened, but as far as now there's no sufficient evidence that there's any border violence here," said Sheriff Dominguez.

An update to the investigation may come as soon as Monday night or Tuesday morning.