US police officer arrested at border, accused of killing three in Mexico
A Texas reserve police officer, Chad Eberle, has been arrested crossing into the US after being accused of shooting three people dead in Saltillo, Mexico, during a dispute over custody of his son. The child's mother was critically wounded.
Authorities in Mexico's Coahuila state say they have arrested 35-year-old Texas police officer Chad Eberle on charges of femicide and qualified homicide, following a shooting that left three people dead in Saltillo last month. Under Mexican law, femicide refers to the killing of a woman or girl because of her gender.
According to the Mexico City newspaper La Razon, the shooting in July followed an argument over whether Eberle had permission to take his three-year-old son. Two women and a man were killed: Ana Laura, 44; Laura Jaquelín, 22; and Emanuel, 44. The boy's 26-year-old mother was shot in the head and remains in critical condition.
Arrest at the border
Investigators say Eberle left the scene with his son in a gray Chevrolet Silverado, triggering a manhunt that tracked the vehicle toward the Texas border. He was intercepted while attempting to cross the international bridge at Piedras Negras, opposite Eagle Pass, before he could re-enter the US with the child. The boy was unharmed and has been placed with Coahuila's child welfare agency.
Coahuila attorney general Federico Fernández said on social media that Eberle had been admitted to Saltillo's men's penitentiary and placed under judicial authority, while the child has been taken into the custody of the state's family prosecutor's office.
Law enforcement background
Eberle most recently served as a reserve officer in Santa Anna, Texas. He had previously worked in several other Texas law enforcement roles, including as a Bexar County deputy constable and an officer with the Northside Independent School District, and is reported to be an army veteran. Santa Anna city officials confirmed Eberle was an unpaid reserve officer hired in November 2025 who was on personal leave at the time of the killings.
