<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">At least seven people were killed Sunday in south Texas and several others injured when a car plowed through a group waiting at a bus stop outside a migrant aid center, police said.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Law enforcement said they were treating the incident as an accident for now, though a witness told AFP the driver had yelled insults at the group before accelerating.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The gray sport utility vehicle "went through a red light and ran over several people" at around 8:30 am (1330 GMT) in Brownsville, a border city at the southernmost tip of the state, local police spokesman Martin Sandoval told AFP.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He said seven people died and "nearly 10" other people were injured.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Witness Luis Herrera, whose arm was hurt in the incident, told AFP the crash was "sudden."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"A woman went by in a car and warned us to get out of the way," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It was a matter of moments. The killer came (through) in the car, gesturing at us, insulting us," the 36-year-old Venezuelan said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Herrera then described the driver as accelerating the car to full force.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The motorist, whom Sandoval said was also taken to the hospital, was detained by witnesses until police arrived. He has been charged for now with reckless driving.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"More than likely there's going to be other charges coming on later," Sandoval earlier told a local ABC affiliate, without clarifying what the additional charges might be.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Authorities have launched an investigation into whether the fatal crash was an accident or intentional, Sandoval said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We're looking (into it)," he told AFP.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 'Intense' -</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The victims were among a crowd of about 25 people waiting at a bus stop, according to Victor Maldonado, the executive director of the Ozanam Center, a homeless shelter across the street from the crash.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The group, whom he said were all Venezuelan, had just eaten breakfast at the facility.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He described a grisly scene, with body parts left behind along the street.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Witnesses were "really shocked," Maldonado told AFP. "It was pretty intense."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The homeless center is open 24 hours per day, Maldonado said, as "we've been housing individuals coming from Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, China, Ukraine - and multiple Venezuelans," he added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sandoval said at least some of the victims were migrants, but could not confirm whether they all were.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It's something that we are investigating with border police," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The news of the tragedy comes as authorities brace for the lifting on Thursday of a Donald Trump-era federal policy that allows border patrol officers to deport or turn away migrants without even accepting their asylum applications.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The looming expiration of the rule known as Title 42 has authorities fearing a spike in undocumented migrants entering the United States.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It also comes a day after a shooter killed at least eight people at a shopping mall, also in Texas, in the latest mass shooting to rock the country. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>