Man sentenced for firing rifle from Dallas bridge on New Year's Eve, prosecutors announce
Prosecutors say a man who fired a rifle from a Dallas bridge on New Year's Eve has been sentenced to federal prison.
On Monday, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas announced that Jose Raul Alarcon Sanchez was sentenced to 35 months behind bars for unlawfully possessing a firearm as an illegal alien; Alarcon Sanchez is in the country without authorization, having entered on a temporary visa in 2025 and remaining after it expired.
"Spraying rifle fire off a downtown bridge is a lawless act that puts our Dallas residents at risk. This sentence makes clear that anyone who turns a celebration into a crime scene will face swift and serious federal consequences," said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould in a statement. "We will not tolerate violent, brazen conduct that endangers the public, and we will continue to use every federal tool available to protect North Texans."
Alarcon Sanchez was 18 years old when authorities said he and another man were seen in a viral video firing an AR-style rifle from the Margaret McDermott Bridge just after midnight on January 1, 2026. Both men reportedly took turns filming each other while firing rifles over the interstate, at a time when traffic was stopped.
Police previously reported recovering more than 100 shell casings on and beneath the bridge. Authorities say that during a subsequent search of Alarcon Sanchez's vehicle, officers found live rounds and an AK‑47‑style rifle. Later, during a Jan. 28 search of his home, federal agents reported locating several additional firearms - including three AR‑15‑style pistols - and determined that one of them matched ballistic evidence collected from the New Year's Eve shooting.
"This case is a clear example of why we never stop working the evidence," said ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Brian Garner in a statement. "What happened on that bridge could have ended in tragedy, but our agents and our law enforcement partners methodically followed the evidence – from the shell casings recovered at the scene to the firearm and ultimately to the individual who pulled the trigger. When someone recklessly uses a firearm in a way that puts innocent people in danger, ATF will use every investigative resource available to identify that firearm, identify the shooter, and build the case necessary to hold them accountable."