Thread: Border Patrol involved in deadly shooting

Border Patrol involved in deadly shooting

Posted: Feb 18, 2014 8:26 AM PSTUpdated: Feb 18, 2014 9:04 AM PST

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - At least one U.S. Border Patrol agent fatally shot a suspect in mountainous terrain in the Otay area of southeast San Diego early Tuesday, authorities said.

The federal agency contacted the sheriff's department about the shooting at 6:55 a.m., according to San Diego County sheriff's Lt. Jason Vickery. The shooting occurred about five miles deep in the mountains off Paseo de la Fuente and Alta Road, he said.

Sheriff's homicide detectives were en route to investigate, the lieutenant said.

http://www.cbs8.com/story/24752984/b...eadly-shooting

Just heard about this on the radio. Such news always makes me a bit nervous, you know what I mean.

Border Patrol agent reportedly shoots, kills person

Posted: 02/18/2014

OTAY MOUNTAIN - A U.S. Border Patrol agent fatally shot a suspected illegal border-crosser today in the rugged southern reaches of San Diego County after the man allegedly assaulted him with a rock.

The border officer was trying to detain a group of suspected illegal migrants about five miles east of Alta Road and Paseo de la Fuente in the Otay Mountain shortly before 7 a.m. when one of them threw a stone at him, hitting

him in the face, sheriff's Lt. Glenn Giannantonio said.

Fearing for his safety, the agent opened fire, killing the unidentified man at the scene, the lieutenant said.

The federal officer was treated for minor injuries.

http://www.10news.com/news/border-patrol-agent-reportedly-shoots-kills-person

Officials: Agent kills man after rock attack

By Debbi Baker8:07 A.M.FEB. 18, 2014Updated11:57 A.M.


Border Patrol agents block a road in Otay Mesa that leads to the area where a deadly shooting occurred Tuesday morning. Lyndsay Winkley

SOUTH COUNTY — A Border Patrol agent fatally shot a man who officials said assaulted him with a rock in rugged terrain near the border Tuesday morning.

The shooting occurred about 6:40 a.m. in a mountainous area about four miles east of the Otay Mesa border crossing, Lt. Glenn Giannantonio said.

Two agents were tracking a group of suspected border-crossers when the agents split up and one of them moved into a location to cut off the group, Giannantonio said.

The agents were about a quarter-mile apart and out of sight of each other when a man threw a rock at one of the agents, hitting him in the face.

The agent opened fire and hit the man an undisclosed number of times. He died at the scene, Giannantonio said.

Investigators do not know if the rock-thrower was part of the group being tracked or if he was in the area on his own, the lieutenant said.

Two men were taken into custody.

The agent, whose name has not been released, suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene. He has been placed on paid administrative leave. Further information about the victim has not been released.

Assistant Chief Patrol Agent Rosario Vasquez said the regularly-patrolled location where the shooting took place is called the “white cross” area where a fair amount of drug and trafficking activity takes place.

“The agents are out there every day trying to protect our borders,” said Vazquez. “It’s unfortunate that a situation like this had to happen. It’s the last thing we want to see.”

A Department of Homeland Security report released in September showed that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have been involved in more than 20 fatal shootings since 2010, including four in San Diego.

In Oct. 2013, Customs and Border Protection officers shot and killed a carjacking suspect who made it to the Otay Mesa border crossing after a high-speed pursuit that began in Riverside County.

The previous year in September, an undercover Border Patrol agent fatally shot Valeria “Munique” Tachiquin Alvarado, 32, after she struck him with her car in Chula Vista.

Her family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit contending the shooting was unjustified and that the agent involved should not have been should not have been hired due to a record of misconduct as an Imperial County sheriff’s deputy.

On June 21, 2011, a Border Patrol agent fatally shot a 40-year-old man who was hurling rocks and nail-studded wood during a confrontation along the international border at Tijuana.

And in May of 2010, Anastasio Hernandez Rojas, 42, was shot with a Taser stun gun by a U.S Customs and Border Protection officer at the San Ysidro border crossing after he resisted agents trying to send him back to Mexico. He later died, and his family has also filed a wrongful-death lawsuit.

In January in Arizona, a suspected undocumented immigrant was shot to death during a struggle with a U.S. Border Patrol agent near the Arizona-Mexico border and in March 2013, a suspected car thief died in a gunfight with three border agents in Waco, Texas.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/...atal-shooting/

Border Patrol Agent Shoots, Kills Rock-Throwing Suspect

A shooting occurred along Otay Mountain Truck Trail near Alta Road, southeast of Otay Reservoir and east of State Route 125
By R. Stickney

| Wednesday,
Feb 19, 2014

VIDEO REPORT AT LINK

A U.S. Border Patrol agent shot and killed a man after he was struck in the face with a rock, officials said Tuesday.

The shooting occurred around 6:40 a.m. along Otay Mountain Truck Trail near Alta Road, southeast of Otay Reservoir and east of State Route 125.

San Diego County sheriff's homicide detective Lt. Glenn Giannantonio said two agents were pursuing who they believed to be undocumented immigrants in the area approximately four miles east of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.

The two agents were separated when one was struck in the face by a rock, officials said.

On Wednesday, investigators released further information on the incident.

They say the Border Patrol agent followed the suspect through a ravine and up a hillside when the suspect began throwing fist-sized rocks.

The agent ordered the man to stop in English and in Spanish and used his hands to deflect some of the rocks, officials said.

The suspect continued to throw rocks at the agent, according to investigators. One of the rocks was estimated to be the size of a basketball.

“The agent, fearing for his safety, fired his duty weapon at the suspect, striking him,” Lt. Giannantonio said.

Investigators said the agent fired his weapon at least twice. Once he realized the suspect was shot, the agent attempted to revive the suspect, officials said.

The suspect died at the scene. At the scene, the agent asked not to be transported to a nearby hospital for treatment however, officials later said the agent was treated and released from a hospital for minor injuries.

Two people, believed to be undocumented immigrants, were arrested.

In January, a rock measuring six inches in diameter was launched at a U.S. Border Patrol agent riding an ATV along the border.

Late last year, a large crowd pelted federal agents with rocks and bottles in the Tijuana River Channel near the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

The agency recently reported a 70-percent increase in assaults between 2011 and 2012, with rocks documented as the most common weapon used against the agents.

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/loca...#ixzz2tia3WqFP