EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A federal lawsuit has been filed on behalf of an El Paso man whose dog was allegedly shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent inside his home late last year.
Singleton Schreiber has filed the federal lawsuit, under the Federal Tort Claims Act on behalf of Seth Daw. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, El Paso Division, names the federal government as defendant.
The lawsuit follows a formal administrative claim Daw filed with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in October 2025, seeking monetary damages and giving the agency the opportunity to resolve the matter before litigation, the law firm said in a news release.
This is a follow-up to a story that KTSM 9 News reported on late last year.
El Paso man claims Border Patrol shot, killed dog without justification
Seven months later, in May 2026, the U.S. Border Patrol denied the claim in its entirety, taking no corrective action and offering the family no accountability, the law firm said.
This lawsuit is a direct result of that denial, Singleton Schreiber said.
On the morning of Sept. 9, 2025, several Border Patrol agents came to Daw’s residence, telling him they had received a tip that undocumented immigrants were inside, the law firm said.
Daw agreed to let the agents search his home, but before doing so, secured his 7-year-old dog, Chop, in the entryway bathroom. He told the agents exactly where Chop was and asked them to let him know before opening that door so he could move his dog first, the law firm said.
Escobar wants answers about dog allegedly shot by Border Patrol
His consent to search the residence never extended to the bathroom, Singleton Schreiber added.
While Daw stepped outside with agents to retrieve his identification from his truck, Agent Jorge Muñoz separated from the group and went back inside alone, the law firm said.
Within about a minute, Daw heard a gunshot and ran toward the house. Agents outside grabbed and restrained Daw with enough force to bruise his arms, and Agent Muñoz pointed his firearm at him, the law firm said.
Inside, Daw found blood throughout his living room and found Chop, shot, in a window nook in the kitchen. He held his dog and tried to stop the bleeding for 45 minutes until Chop died, the law firm said.
A post-incident examination of the home, according to the complaint, undercuts any suggestion that Agent Muñoz acted in self-defense, the law firm said.
The bathroom door where Chop had been secured opens inward, and no blood was found near it. All of the blood was in the living area and kitchen, roughly 18 feet away, consistent with Agent Muñoz opening the door, allowing Chop to walk out, and shooting him only after the dog had moved well clear of the bathroom, the law firm said.
“Seth did everything he was supposed to do, and an agent still went into a room he had no permission to enter and killed a healthy, harmless animal who had never hurt anyone,” said Marisa Ong of Singleton Schreiber, counsel for Daw. “Seth hasn’t spent a single night in the home he was renovating and planning to buy since the day his dog was killed there.”
Agents never found any undocumented immigrants in the home, the law firm said.
According to the complaint, when Daw’s father arrived on scene and confronted agents, at least one acknowledged they had made “a big mistake.”
The complaint raises claims for assault and battery, conversion and trespass to personal property, trespass to real property, and negligence. Daw seeks compensatory damages for his physical injuries, the loss of Chop, and the value of the labor and improvements he invested in the residence he intended to purchase, the law firm said.
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