The Buffalo Soldier Gate at Fort Bliss, Texas. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)

AUSTIN, Texas — A Fort Bliss soldier was arrested and charged with shooting and killing another soldier last month at a party in El Paso, according to local police.

The El Paso Police Department arrested Spc. Eric Lammarr Mathis, 23, at the west Texas Army base on Monday and charged him with murder for the death of Pvt. Edward DaQuan Smith, 23.

Both soldiers were repairers of smalls arms and towed artillery, according to Fort Bliss.

The shooting occurred Feb. 28 at a party in the 2100 block of Setting Sun Drive, within a subdivision on the eastern edge of the city, according to police. Officers were called to the party for a shooting at about 11:58 p.m. and found Smith with a gunshot wound. He died at the scene.

A verbal argument had escalated into a shooting, and a crowd of people fled before police arrived.

Army Spc. Eric Lammarr Mathis, 23, was arrested Monday, March 24, 2025, and charged him with murder for the shooting death of Pvt. Edward DaQuan Smith, 23, according to the El Paso Police Department. (El Paso Police Department)

Mathis, who is assigned to 32nd Army Air and Missile Command, deployed briefly last year to Kuwait. He was listed Thursday as an inmate of the El Paso County Jail with bond set at $1.5 million, according to online jail records. He has a bond hearing Tuesday.

Smith was a Chicago native who was married with two sons, according to his obituary. He enlisted in May 2022 and earned the Army Service Ribbon and the National Defense Service Medal. He was assigned to the 1st Armored Division, according to Fort Bliss.

“Fort Bliss is fully cooperating with the local law enforcement as they continue their investigation,” said Maj. Arturo Rodriguez, spokesman for Fort Bliss.

Investigators are asking for anyone with information to call police at 915-832-4400 or Crime Stoppers of El Paso at 915-566-TIPS (8477).