Thread: CBP officers kill U.S. citizen during shootout at San Ysidro Port of Entry Border

CBP officers kill U.S. citizen during shootout at San Ysidro Port of Entry

[COLOR=var(--primaryTextColor)]All lanes from Tijuana into the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry were closed for about 30 minutes Monday night after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers shot a person at the port. (Alexandra Mendoza/The San Diego Union-Tribune)


Customs and Border Protection officers shot and killed the driver of a white pickup around 7:30 Monday night after the man allegedly opened fire on officers after refusing to stop for inspections.

By ALEX RIGGINS, ALEXANDRA MENDOZA
JUNE 3, 2019 8:51 PM

SAN YSIDRO — Seven U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers engaged in a shootout with a U.S. citizen Monday night at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, killing the 23-year-old after he attempted to drive through the port without stopping and then opened fire on officers, authorities said.

It happened around 7:30 p.m. in a secondary inspection area at the San Ysidro border crossing, according to San Diego police and a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson.

According to a preliminary investigation, the alleged gunman was driving a white pickup and refused to stop for Customs and Border Protection officers at the port of entry driver checkpoint, San Diego police homicide Lt. Matt Dobbs said in a statement released early Tuesday.

The man steered the truck through the inspection area until he was forced to stop by a vehicle blocking his exit.

“The suspect began firing a gun out of his vehicle toward the officers, then exited his vehicle and continued firing at the officers,” Dobbs said. “The officers returned fire, striking the suspect.”

Seven of the federal officers engaged in the shootout, Dobbs said. None were injured by the gunfire.

The suspect died at the scene despite the life-saving medical efforts of Customs and Border Protection Officers and San Diego firefighters and medics, Dobbs said.

San Diego homicide detectives knew the identity the man killed in the gun battle — he was described as a 23-year-old white male citizen of the U.S. — but his name was not released pending family notifications, Dobbs said.

The San Diego Police Department’s homicide unit was investigating the shooting as is typical of most officer-involved shootings in the city limits.

The Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said while the Police Department would lead the investigation, federal border officials were planning to also conduct an internal review, per the agency’s policy.

A leader from the San Diego branch of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents Customs and Border Protection officers, said in a text message earlier Monday night that “all officers involved are safe and uninjured.”

In a tweet Monday, the union’s local chapter president, Jorge Llanos, said union leaders and an attorney from the Peace Officers Research Association of California “are on site to support our members through this.”

Videos posted to social media showed a chaotic scene, with dozens of armed Customs and Border Protection officers appearing to swarm the white pickup, while others appeared to surround someone on the ground a few yards away.

“I heard from 15 to 20 shots,” said Juan, a San Diego resident who was crossing back into the U.S. from a Tijuana shopping trip, and declined to give his last name.
Juan said he could see almost nothing other than Customs and Border Protection officers “running up and down” the lanes.

“It sounded like fireworks,” said Jesús Gutiérrez, a vendor who sells windshield wipers to motorists waiting on the Mexican side of the border crossing. “We couldn’t really understand what was happening.”

Marco Sotomayor, Tijuana’s public safety secretary, tweeted that Customs and Border Protection agents shut down all entry lanes from Tijuana into the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

Around 8:20 p.m., he tweeted that the lanes were reopened.

Marco Sotomayor@MarcoSotomayor

Se informa que se generó un incidente en la garita de San Ysidro, en territorio de Estados Unidos, en este momento @CBPSanDiego cerró todos los carriles, en cuanto se tenga mas información se dará a conocer. Se recomienda utilizar garita de Otay @SSPMTijuana @AlcaldiaTijuana

30
8:02 PM - Jun 3, 2019
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The Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said northbound vehicle and pedestrian operations at the port of entry were suspended for about 30 minutes. The southbound pedestrian and vehicle lanes were never shut down.

Mario Martinez, the director of Tijuana’s municipal police, said his officers stationed in the area rushed toward the sound of gunfire before learning it had happened in U.S. territory.

He said Tijuana police were told that Customs and Border Protection officers stopped a vehicle trying to “pass without permission.”


U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers closed down the three far left lanes at the San Ysidro Port of Entry during an investigation into a shooting at the port Monday night. (Alexandra Mendoza/The San Diego Union-Tribune)


After most northbound lanes were reopened, the three far left lanes — near where the shooting reportedly occurred — were closed down again.

This is a breaking news story that will be updated as more information becomes available.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...-port-of-entry

Shooting Involving Border Patrol Agents at San Ysidro Port of Entry NBC

23-year-old U.S. man killed in shootout had people in his pickup when he tried to plow across border

Play Video

According to a preliminary investigation, the alleged gunman was driving a white pickup and refused to stop for Customs and Border Protection officers at the port of entry driver checkpoint.


Police identified the man killed in the Monday night shootout with U.S. authorities as Travis James Eckstein

By TERI FIGUEROA
JUNE 5, 2019 11:57 AM

SAN DIEGO — A U.S. citizen killed in a shootout with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers after he tried to plow his way through the border Monday night has been identified as a 23-year-old man.

Travis James Eckstein had two people in the back of his white pickup when he tried to cross north into the United States, San Diego police homicide Lt. Matt Dobbs said Wednesday.

The pair was interviewed and turned over to Customs and Border Protection officers, he said. Further information on the two people was not immediately available.

The gun battle erupted around 7:40 p.m. in a secondary inspection area at the San Ysidro port, considered the busiest border crossing in the Western Hemisphere.

According to Dobbs, Eckstein was headed through the Port of Entry when he refused to stop for officers and tried to drive through the inspection area.

His pickup was eventually stopped by another vehicle, and Eckstein — still inside the pickup — opened fire on the officers, Dobbs said.

Eckstein got out and continued to shoot, Dobbs said. Officers returned fire.

Eckstein was shot. He died at the scene.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...-across-border

"Two male Chinese nationals, ages 18 and 27, were found in the rear of Eckstein's truck, and were interviewed and released to CBP officials."

Authorities: U.S. citizen killed in border shootout was a human smuggler

Posted by LET Staff | Jun 6, 2019 | News, Investigations, Featured



(Photo - San Diego Police/Flickr)

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The man that was killed in a gun battle with Customs and Border Patrol officials on Monday was reportedly trying to smuggle people into the country, authorities said.

The suspect was identified as 23-year-old Travis James Eckstein, an American citizen. He was killed following the shootout with law enforcement officials at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

Police said Eckstein was crossing back into the United States from Mexico when he was flagged for a secondary inspection. When he refused to pull over and allow CBP agents to search his truck, the situation escalated quickly.

(NBC 7 Broadcast)

According to statements from CBP, Eckstein was attempting to smuggle two Chinese nationals across the border. When officials went to look inside Eckstein’s vehicle, they noticed two passengers “secreted” in the rear of the truck.

The two men were said to be aged 27 and 18, and neither had legal status in the states.

“The CBP officers risked their own lives to protect the public from this gunman,” Pete Flores, Director of Field Operations, said in a statement. “Human smuggling is always dangerous. This unfortunate incident demonstrates the total disregard smuggling organizations have for what they consider to be cargo.”

CBP confirmed that the man was driving a white truck and refused to stop for a search. When he tried to flee but was blocked by a car, Eckstein reportedly opened fire at authorities.

“The suspect began firing a gun out of his vehicle towards the officers, then exited his vehicle and continued firing at the officers,” the statement from SDPD Homicide read. “The officers returned fire, striking the suspect.”

Border agents reportedly yelled, “Get down, everybody get down!” Onlookers reported that at least a dozen shots were heard.

A motorist who had just crossed into the United States caught part of the events on cellphone video.

WATCH THE VIDEO AT THE LINK



(NBC 7 Broadcast)


CBP officers and San Diego Fire-Rescue personnel reportedly tried to treat the suspect at the scene but he died from his injuries, SDPD homicide investigators said

Kasia Gregorczyk
✔@KasiaGTV

San Diego Police confirm a shooting happened in the secondary vehicle inspection area at the #SanYsidro Port Of Entry this evening involving a Border Patrol agent. No word yet on injuries. @fox5sandiego

179
12:18 AM - Jun 4, 2019

A man sitting in traffic waiting to cross said he heard the gunshots.

“We hear ‘pop pop.’ Super gnarly. We are like ‘those were fireworks,’ and my other buddy was like ‘Those were gunshots,'” the man said. “And then we saw all these Border Patrol dudes running and then they were chasing someone.”

SDPD and the ATF responded to assist in the investigation. None of the seven officers involved in the shooting were reported to have any injuries. The two men being snuck into the country were reportedly uninjured and were taken into custody by law enforcement officials.

https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/...pwLNW7J0MEFf_A

Why were the Chinese nationals released!

Send them back to China!