On May 11, 2024, 71-year-old Vahid Khaledi was shot dead inside the main branch of the Brownsville Public Library. Police found him unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the head at about 12:04 p.m.; he was pronounced dead at the scene. The disturbance reportedly began after Khaledi asked another patron to keep the noise down, and the encounter escalated into a verbal dispute.

Thirty-three-year-old Humberto Paz was arrested at the library and charged with first-degree murder and second-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon; his bond was set at $3.25 million. Investigators later reported Paz had served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 2008 to 2016 and had documented mental health issues. The library temporarily closed its main branch, increased security at both locations, and reopened on May 18, 2024.

Khaledi’s family describe him as a peaceful man who enjoyed reading and spending time with his nieces and nephews; they launched a fundraising campaign to cover funeral costs and transport his body to Houston. A competency hearing for Paz is scheduled for January 6, 2025. Did anyone in the Brownsville area see or hear anything that day that could help clarify what happened?