Border Patrol agent shoots, kills illegal immigrant near Sasabe
Posted Dec 4, 2012, 6:26 pm
Dylan Smith TucsonSentinel.com
A Border Patrol agent shot and killed a suspected illegal immigrant northwest of the Sasabe port of entry Sunday afternoon, authorities said. The shooting happened after a physical altercation, BP officials said Tuesday.
A BP agent patrolling about 12 miles northwest of the border crossing encountered an unknown number of suspected illegal immigrants in the Baboquivari Mountains on the Tohono O’odham Nation. The agent fired his gun and one of the suspects was killed, spokesman Vic Brabble said in an email.
Six others were arrested, officials said.
The nationality of the suspect who was killed was not released, nor were those arrested identified.
Special Agent in Charge James Turgal confirmed that the FBI is investigating the shooting.
Other details on Sunday's shooting were not released Tuesday, including details of the alleged altercation, whether the suspects were smuggling drugs, and why officials did not immediately release any information on the shooting. Officials said they were cooperating with FBI and Tohono O'Odham Nation investigators.
Sasabe is an unincorporated community in the Altar Valley, about 60 miles south of Tucson. It lies west of Nogales on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The incident is the third fatal shooting by a Tucson Sector Border Patrol agent this fall.
On Oct. 2, Agent Nicholas Ivie was killed by friendly fire in an incident between Bisbee and Douglas.
On Oct. 10, an agent in Nogales fired across the border and killed a 16-year-old boy. José Antonio Elena Rodríguez was shot multiple times after a group on the Mexican side threw rocks up and over the border as agents investigated a drug smuggling incident, U.S. officials said.
Border Patrol agent shoots, kills illegal immigrant near Sasabe
