Published: 04.23.2008

Shootout in Mexico briefly shuts Lukeville port
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
A shootout at a Mexican house a few blocks from the Lukeville port of entry forced officials to close the port for two hours Monday afternoon.
It reopened at 6 p.m. and remained open through Tuesday, said Brian Levin, Customs and Border Protection spokesman.
The shootout occurred close enough for Customs and Border Protection officers to hear the shots, Levin said. Mexican authorities alerted them that some of the people involved in the shootout were trying to make their way into the United States around the port.
At about 3:10 p.m., Border Patrol agents were notified by officers at the port about the shooting and the possibility of people fleeing into the United States, said Jesús Rodriguez, Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokes-man. Agents responded, and at about 4:45 p.m. arrested a man west of the port who fit the description given by Mexican authorities, he said.
The man, from Michoacan, Mexico, will be prosecuted for re-entry of an aggravated felon and deported, Rodriguez said. He did not have any weapons on him when he was detained.
While other U.S. law enforcement agencies searched for the suspects, Customs and Border Protection officials closed the port as a precaution until they could be sure everything was under control, Levin said.
Deputies from the Pima County Sheriff's Department Ajo District provided scene security and kept on an eye on Arizona 85 to see if anybody involved in the shooting was in the area, said district commander Lt. Bill Clements.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/235654