Fort Bliss soldier accused of killing another soldier
Mar 25, 2025
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) -- One Fort Bliss soldier has been arrested and has been charged with murder in the shooting death of another soldier at the post.
Police said they have arrested Eric Lamarr Mathis, 24, and charged him with murder in the shooting death of Edward Daquan Smith.
Fort Bliss
confirmed that both the suspect and victim were soldiers at the Army post. Fort Bliss said Mathis is a specialist assigned to the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, while Smith was a private assigned to the 1st Armored Division.
Police say they responded right before midnight on Friday, Feb. 28, in reference to a shooting at the 2100 block of Setting Sun in East El Paso.
Man dies after altercation leads to shooting in East El Paso
Once officers arrived, they found Smith, 23, suffering from a gunshot wound. He ended up dying at the scene.
The preliminary investigation revealed that a large gathering of people was at the 2100 block of Setting Sun that night when an altercation broke out, police said.
The verbal altercation escalated into a shooting and the crowd of people fled before officers arrived, police said.
Police said their Crimes Against Persons detectives arrested Mathis for murder on Monday, March 24.
He was taken into custody on Fort Bliss, police said.
He was booked into the El Paso County Detention Center on a $1.5 million bond.
Police are asking anyone with information on this murder to contact the non-emergency number of (915) 832-4400 or to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers of El Paso at (915) 566-TIPS (8477). ...read more read less