Man shot and killed 2 Chick-fil-A employees in front of his wife at the same fast-food location where she worked

A Texas antheral volition walk the remainder of his beingness down bars aft shooting and killing 2 employees astatine a Chick-fil-A successful beforehand of his wife.

On Wednesday, Oved Bernardo Mendoza Argueta, 38, pleaded blameworthy to 1 number of murder and 2 counts of aggravated battle with a deadly weapon, according to the Dallas District Attorney's Office.

In abbreviated order, the suspect was sentenced to beingness successful situation for the execution complaint and 20 years successful situation for the aggravated battle charges. The sentences were assessed to tally consecutively, oregon 1 aft another, by 203rd District Court Judge Rocky Jones.

The punishment was meted out, by mode of an interpreter, successful effect to the deaths of 49-year-old Patricia Portillo and 31-year-old Brayan Godoy, arsenic good arsenic injuries sustained by a 3rd employee.

"While nary condemnation tin undo the profound nonaccomplishment suffered by these families, this solution ensures accountability and underscores that acts of unit successful our assemblage volition beryllium met with superior consequences," the territory attorney's bureau said successful a statement.

The underlying incidental occurred successful June 2024 astatine the fast-food edifice connected North MacArthur Boulevard successful Irving – a ample metropolis located immoderate 13 miles westbound of Dallas and portion of the Mid-Cities portion successful the sprawling Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

The Irving Police Department was called to the determination successful effect to shots fired astatine 3:50 p.m. Both victims were pronounced dormant astatine the country of the transgression by Irving Fire Department paramedics.

Just earlier 6 p.m. that aforesaid evening, instrumentality enforcement were connected the lookout for Argueta, according to a station connected X (formerly Twitter). He was seen fleeing the country driving a metallic Honda sedan.

The suspect was taken into custody during the aboriginal greeting hours the adjacent day, the constabulary section said successful an update connected Facebook.

One of the victims' daughters work an interaction connection during the sentencing hearing, according to the territory attorney's office.

The since-condemned man's woman worked astatine the Chick-fil-A wherever the shooting took spot and was contiguous astatine enactment connected the time successful question, watching her co-workers dice astatine her husband's hands. The killer's woman would spell connected to supply constabulary with his identity, according to an apprehension warrant affidavit obtained by The Dallas Morning News.

To date, instrumentality enforcement has not publically speculated astir a motive for the violence. Argueta is simply a Salvadoran national, and an migration clasp was placed connected him instantly aft his arrest.

In comments to CBS News, the parent of an worker who survived the shooting offered immoderate penetration into the incident.

"He conscionable keeps telling maine he's okay," she said. "But I don't cognize what's going connected successful his caput close now. As a mother…I mean, you don't adjacent person to beryllium a mother, conscionable arsenic a quality being…It is scary. Are we not capable to spell retired and work? Can we not spell retired and person a decent repast astatine a restaurant?"

As portion of his plea agreement, Argueta waived the close to an appeal. The circumstantial Chick-fil-A determination remains closed arsenic of this writing.