ABC-7 identifies two men murdered in unrelated shootings

Two men were killed in El Paso only five hours apart, in two separate shootings.
It’s been 3 years since El Paso’s seen a deadly day like this.

ABC-7 is the only media outlet able to confirm the names of both men who were killed in the shootings Saturday morning.

One man has been taken into custody and another man is still on the loose after the two murders.

Efren Gonzalez, 22, was shot and killed after leaving the Black Market Bar off of North Mesa Street.

Anthony Bowler was a sergeant in the military, his mom who didn’t want to be identified told us.

She didn’t say which branch.

Bowler was killed on the city’s East side.

The first murder occurred after 2 a.m.

Police say Gonzalez was crossing the street at the intersection of North Mesa and Robinson streets.

They say he got into an argument with someone in a car.
Police report the person in the car pulled out a gun and shot Gonzalez in the upper part of his body.

Family and friends have confirmed the young man is Efren Gonzalez.
ABC-7 found that friends are already filling Gonzalez’ Facebook page with posts of their condolences, sharing pictures of the times they had with him.

The shooter still hasn’t been caught.

The next murder occurred about three hours after Gonzanlez’s shooting.

Police say the incidents are not related.

The second shooting happened on the 11200 block of Warcloud Av.

ABC-7 has confirmed with the victim’s mother that her son, Sgt. Anthony Bowler, was the man killed.

She tells us Bowler was a sergeant who’d been deployed to Iraq and had only been back for 15 months.

Bowler’s mother told ABC-7 he’d been invited to a barbeque Friday evening.

That’s where she says he was killed.

An arrest has been made in this case, though police haven’t said who’s been charged.