BONHAM, Texas (AP) — Three brothers — ages 6, 8 and 9 — died in Texas during the massive winter storm gripping the U.S. after falling through an icy pond across the street from a house where they were staying, authorities said Tuesday. Their mother said she jumped into the freezing water but wasn’t able to save them.
“They were just screaming, telling me to help them,” Cheyenne Hangaman told The Associated Press. “And I watched all of them struggle, struggle to stay above the water. I watched all of them fight.”
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Cheyenne Hangaman shows a photograph of her and her son, EJ, 9, who along with his two brothers Kaleb, 8, and Howard, 6, drowned in a frozen pond Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Cheyenne Hangaman shows a photograph of her and her son, Howard, 6, who along with his two brothers Kaleb, 8, and EJ, 9, drowned in a frozen pond Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Cheyenne Hangaman shows a photograph of her and her son, Kaleb, 8, who along with his two brothers Howard, 6, and EJ, 9, drowned in a frozen pond Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Cheyenne Hangaman speaks to The Associated Press about the death of her three sons who drowned in a frozen pond Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Cheyenne Hangaman shows a photograph of her and her son, EJ, 9, who along with his two brothers Kaleb, 8, and Howard, 6, drowned in a frozen pond Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Cheyenne Hangaman shows a photograph of her and her son, Howard, 6, who along with his two brothers Kaleb, 8, and EJ, 9, drowned in a frozen pond Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Cheyenne Hangaman shows a photograph of her and her son, Kaleb, 8, who along with his two brothers Howard, 6, and EJ, 9, drowned in a frozen pond Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Cheyenne Hangaman speaks to The Associated Press about the death of her three sons who drowned in a frozen pond Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Ice and snow cover the exterior of a residence near a pond where neighbors say three young boys died after falling into the water, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
A pond where neighbors say three young boys died after falling into the water is seen Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
A pond where neighbors say three young boys died after falling into the water is seen Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Ice and snow cover the exterior of a residence near a pond where neighbors say three young boys died after falling into the water, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
A pond where neighbors say three young boys died after falling into the water is seen Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
The brothers died on Monday after falling into the private pond north of Bonham, a rural community of about 10,000 people near the Oklahoma border, the Fannin County Sheriff’s Office said. First responders and a neighbor pulled the two older boys from the water and the youngest sibling was recovered after an extensive search of the pond, according to the sheriff.
Hangaman said she and her children had been staying at a friend’s house across the street from the pond, and that she’d warned them to not go near it. But, she said, on Monday her youngest daughter ran to tell her that her brothers were in the water.
“I ran across as much ice as I could to get to them and eventually ended up falling in myself,” said Hangaman, who said the freezing water immediately shocked her body.
“I would grab one, try to put him on ice, but the ice just kept breaking every time I would sit him up there," she said. "I would just keep trying to go to each one of them trying to help them and it was only me, like I couldn’t help them all by myself.”
Hangaman said a man who came to help was able to throw a rope to her to get her out of the pond.
“I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move," she said. “By that time I knew that my kids were already gone. So I just had to try to fight for my life at that point.”
All three of the boys were in elementary school in the Bonham Independent School District, which had canceled classes Monday because of the frigid weather that has swept across much of the U.S. The school district was also closed Tuesday due to extreme weather conditions, including icy roads and freezing temperatures.
“We are devastated by this unimaginable loss, and our thoughts are with the family, friends, and all who knew and loved these children," Superintendent Lance Hamlin said in a letter to parents.
Hangaman said all three boys were “bubbly.” “You couldn’t really stop their bubbliness,” she said.
On Tuesday, a layer of ice still covered much of the small pond in a wooded area.
More than 40 deaths have been reported in states affected by severe cold.
Associated Press writers Jamie Stengle in Dallas and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.
Cheyenne Hangaman speaks to The Associated Press about the death of her three sons who drowned in a frozen pond Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Cheyenne Hangaman shows a photograph of her and her son, EJ, 9, who along with his two brothers Kaleb, 8, and Howard, 6, drowned in a frozen pond Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Cheyenne Hangaman shows a photograph of her and her son, Howard, 6, who along with his two brothers Kaleb, 8, and EJ, 9, drowned in a frozen pond Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Cheyenne Hangaman shows a photograph of her and her son, Kaleb, 8, who along with his two brothers Howard, 6, and EJ, 9, drowned in a frozen pond Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Cheyenne Hangaman speaks to The Associated Press about the death of her three sons who drowned in a frozen pond Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Ice and snow cover the exterior of a residence near a pond where neighbors say three young boys died after falling into the water, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
A pond where neighbors say three young boys died after falling into the water is seen Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
A pond where neighbors say three young boys died after falling into the water is seen Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Ice and snow cover the exterior of a residence near a pond where neighbors say three young boys died after falling into the water, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
A pond where neighbors say three young boys died after falling into the water is seen Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two federal officers fired shots during the encounter that killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, a Customs and Border Protection official told Congress in a notice sent Tuesday.
Officers tried to take Pretti into custody and he resisted, leading to a struggle, according to a notification to Congress obtained by The Associated Press. During the struggle, a Border Patrol agent yelled, “He’s got a gun!” multiple times, the official said.
A Border Patrol officer and a CBP officer each fired Glock pistols, the notice said.
Investigators from CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility conducted the analysis based on a review of body-worn camera footage and agency documentation, the notice said. The law requires the agency to inform relevant congressional committees about deaths in CBP custody within 72 hours.
The notification came a day after President Donald Trump ordered border czar Tom Homan to take over his administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota following Pretti's death, which was the second fatal shooting this month of a person at the hands of immigration law enforcement.
Ecuador’s minister of foreign affairs, meanwhile, filed a protest with the U.S. Embassy after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents tried to enter the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis without permission Tuesday.
A video of the attempt on social media shows a consulate staffer running to the door to turn the ICE agents away, telling them, “This is the Ecuadorian consulate. You’re not allowed to enter.” One ICE officer can be heard responding by threatening to “grab” the staffer if he touched the agent before agreeing to leave.
International law generally prohibits law enforcement authorities from entering foreign consulates or embassies without permission, though sometimes permission may be assumed granted for life-threatening emergencies, like fires.
“Consulate officials immediately prevented the ICE officer from entering the consular building, thus ensuring the protection of the Ecuadorians who were present at the time and activating the emergency protocols issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility,” the ministry wrote on X.
A “note of protest” was filed with the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador so that similar attempts aren’t made at other consulates, the ministry said. The State Department, Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
By sending Homan to Minnesota, “we’re going to de-escalate a little bit,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ “Will Cain Show.” That’s significant since White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, when questioned repeatedly Monday about Homan’s being dispatched to Minnesota, refused to say that doing so was an effort to calm the situation.
The president added of Homan, “Tom, as tough as he is, gets along” with governors and mayors, even in Democratic areas.
As he left the White House Tuesday, the president was asked whether Alex Pretti’s killing on Saturday was justified. He responded by saying that a “big investigation” was underway. In the hours after Pretti’s death, some administration officials sought to blame the shooting on the 37-year-old intensive care nurse.
Trump said in an interview broadcast Tuesday that he had “great calls” with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Monday, mirroring comments he made immediately after the calls.
The seemingly softer tone emerged as immigration agents were still active across the Twin Cities region, and it was unclear if officials had changed tactics following the shift by the White House.
Walz’s office said Tuesday that the Democratic governor met with Homan and called for impartial investigations into the shootings involving federal officers. They agreed on the need to continue to talk, according to the governor.
Frey and Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said they also met with Homan and had a “productive conversation.” The mayor added that city leaders would stay in discussion with the border czar.
Homan posted on social media that the discussions “were a productive starting point.” Homan said that Walz, Frey, top law enforcement officials and he all agree that “we need to support our law enforcement officers and get criminals off the streets.”
The White House had tried to blame Democratic leaders for the protests of immigration raids. But after Pretti's killing and videos suggesting he was not an active threat, the administration tapped Homan to take charge of the Minnesota operation from Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino.
Trump said Bovino, the go-to architect for the president’s large-scale city-by-city immigration crackdowns, was “very good” but added “he’s a pretty out-there kind of a guy” and “maybe it wasn’t good here.”
Immigration enforcement activity witnessed by journalists in Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs on Tuesday appeared comparable with recent weeks. As before, most didn’t result in major confrontations with agents. Activists say they continue to monitor enforcement operations through social media and chats on messaging apps.
In Texas, a federal judge issued a temporary order prohibiting the removal of a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy and his father who were detained last week in Minnesota in an incident that further inflamed divisions on immigration under the Trump administration. U.S. Judge Fred Biery ruled Monday that any removal or transfer of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, is on hold while a court case proceeds.
On Tuesday, federal immigration authorities released an Ecuadorian man whose detention led the chief federal judge in Minnesota to order the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear in his courtroom, the man's attorney said.
Attorney Graham Ojala-Barbour said the man, who is identified in court documents as “Juan T.R.,” was released in Texas. The lawyer said in an email to The Associated Press that he was notified in an email from the U.S. attorneys office in Minneapolis that his client had been freed.
In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz expressed frustration with the Trump administration’s handling of Juan’s and other immigration cases. He took the extraordinary step of ordering Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, to personally appear in his courtroom Friday.
Schiltz had said in his order that he would cancel Lyons’ appearance if the man was released from custody.
“This Court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result,” he wrote.
Schiltz's order followed a federal court hearing Monday on a request by the state and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul for a judge to halt the immigration enforcement surge. The judge in that case said she would prioritize the ruling but did not give a timeline for a decision.
Schiltz wrote that he recognizes ordering the head of a federal agency to appear personally is extraordinary. “But the extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed,” he said.
The Associated Press left messages Tuesday with ICE and a DHS spokesperson seeking a response.
Catalini reported from Trenton, New Jersey and Karnowski from Minneapolis. Associated Press writer Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
FILE - White House border czar Tom Homan poses for a photo after an interview by Stuart Varney, on the Fox Business Network, in New York, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
A man is detained by federal agents Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A sign for 37-year-old Alex Pretti, who was fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol officer earlier in the day, is displayed during a vigil Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A framed photograph of Alex Pretti, along with candles and an American flag, sits at a memorial outside the Minneapolis VA hospital on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Federal agents make a traffic stop on a U.S. citizen as they provide their identification including a passport and drivers license, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A handwritten sign honoring Alex Pretti hangs on a fence outside the Minneapolis VA hospital on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
People visit a memorial for Alex Pretti at the scene where the 37-year-old was fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol officer over the weekend, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A drawing of Alex Pretti is displayed at the scene where 37-year-old Pretti was fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol officer over the weekend, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A man in handcuffs gets out of a vehicle and runs to avoid being detailed by federal immigration agents in front of a woman holding her child on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A man in handcuffs runs to avoid being detailed by federal immigration agents on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
FILE - Todd Lyons, acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs. Enforcement (ICE), is interviewed on TV on the White House grounds, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025 in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
A demonstrator holds a sign reading "ICE OUT" during a protest outside the office of Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A person holds a sign of Alex Pretti during a protest outside the office of Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
