Night out turns deadly: Fort Bliss soldiers' shooting rampage caught on video, police say

A shooting rampage by two Fort Bliss soldiers accused of killing two people and wounding four others outside an El Paso bar was recorded by security cameras, court documents state.

U.S. Army Pvt. Aaron John, 22, and Pfc. Andrew James Williams, 20, who both remain jailed on capital murder charges, are assigned to the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss officials confirmed.

Williams and John both allegedly opened fire with handguns on a crowd after a fight shortly after midnight on July 13 in the parking lot outside the Ditzy Duck bar in the Airway Plaza bar and restaurant area at 1160 Airway Blvd.

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The shooting claimed the lives of James Nicholson Jr., 26, and Alexa Retana, 27, a longtime couple, each the parent of a young daughter, who had gone out for a break from work and a fun night out, according to El Paso police and a Facebook post by a Nicholson family member. Four other people were wounded in the attack.

"This incident does not reflect our organization, which adheres to the Army Values. We embrace the residents of our community as we all sort through this tragedy," Fort Bliss said in a statement.

Cameras record shooting spree outside El Paso bar

A criminal complaint affidavit filed by an El Paso police detective describes the violence, which was recorded on video taken by the plaza's security cameras.

According to the detective's affidavit, the video shows several men and women in the parking lot in front of the Ditzy Duck when "an assault" takes place between John and other men.

John has a bruise under an eye in his jail booking photo.

John and the men "disengage," but the arguing, pushing and shoving continues. The video allegedly shows John and Williams each take out a gun. John was armed with a Glock 21 .45-caliber handgun and Williams had a Glock 19 9 mm handgun, the affidavit states.

Williams allegedly followed Nicholson toward a black SUV parked in front of the Ditzy Duck before shooting Nicholson, who died at the scene, the affidavit states.

Williams "then continues to shoot multiple times in the direction of the crowd," and John allegedly starts shooting his gun into the air and then toward people in the parking lot, the affidavit states, citing the video.

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The two soldiers also are each seen pointing their guns at a vehicle passing by in the parking lot. John later walks toward a group of people where Nicholson is lying on the ground and appears to shoot in the direction of the crowd, the affidavit states.

The alleged shooters then both get into a car with a woman. John gets in the driver's seat. Moments later, John allegedly gets out of the car, pointing his gun and firing in the direction of a man running through the parking lot before the car departs, the affidavit states.

Police arrived and found Nicholson dead. Several people who had been shot were transported to University Medical Center of El Paso and Del Sol Medical Center, the affidavit states.

Alexa Retana died at UMC from gunshot wounds. The other people wounded in the attack were identified as: Jason Webb, 25, Sebastian Alexander Benecke, 30, Samuel Munoz, 27, and John Retana, 28. All are from El Paso.

Military police stop shooting suspects' car at Fort Bliss gate

A witness obtained the license plate to the suspected shooters' vehicle, a black Volkswagen Passat with New York license plates, and a BOLO (be on the lookout) was issued via police radio, the affidavit states.

Soon, military police stopped the Volkswagen at the Constitution Gate to Fort Bliss, near the new William Beaumont Army Medical Center, police said.

The Volkswagen was occupied by John and the woman, who was described as a witness by police. John allegedly was in possession of two guns.

Both soldiers were questioned by homicide detectives with the Crimes Against Persons Unit at El Paso Police Headquarters after being taken into custody.

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The affidavit states that John allegedly told detectives that he had fired his gun multiple times, had shot up in the air and that Williams had fired his gun several times toward the crowd. Williams allegedly admitted firing his weapon several times into the crowd.

Both men remain incarcerated on bonds of $2.5 million each at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown. A bond hearing that had been set for Thursday was rescheduled until next week.

Under Texas law, capital murder is punishable by life in prison without parole or the death penalty.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Fort Bliss soldiers allegedly caught on video in El Paso killings