Thread: BP agent kills one suspected border-crosser near Tumacacori

http://www.nogalesinternational.com/art ... /news2.txt

BP agent kills one suspected border-crosser near Tumacacori


Friday, March 2, 2007 11:15 AM PST


One handgun, one rifle, packs

full of marijuana recovered

By William Wilczewski

For the second time in less than a week, a Border Patrol agent in Santa Cruz County has fired his weapon at a person.

Unlike a previous incident on Jan. 21 in Rio Rico, the shooting Tuesday night near Tumacacori was deadly.

Details sketchy

Details were sketchy at press time, according to spokesman Gus Soto. He said that BP agents encountered five individuals with backpacks 1.5 miles west of Interstate 19 around kilometer 29 in Tumacacori.

After the individuals identified themselves, a shootout ensued between the agents and the illegal entrants but it is not clear yet who shot first, Soto said.

Two weapons, one handgun and a rifle, plus five bundles of marijuana were recovered from the group. The four remaining individuals were apprehended and taken into custody at the BP's detention center in Nogales.

The Santa Cruz County Metro Task Force, a combined unit of local law-enforcement agencies designed to monitor drug activity, and the Arizona Department of Public Safety were called in to secure the crime scene, said Sheriff Antonio Estrada.

The FBI was also called in to investigate the possible assault on a federal agent, and the BP is conducting its own internal investigation regarding its use-of-force policy.

The agent who fired the shots is on paid administrative leave, a standard procedure when an agent fires his weapon in the line of duty, Soto said.

Estrada said that further apprehensions of different backpackers were made Wednesday morning in the same general vicinity.

Both shooting incidents remain under investigation.

In the incident in January, shots were fired shortly after 4 a.m., and Fernando Ramos Cholio was airlifted to University Medical Center in Tucson with non-life threatening injuries. Cholio allegedly became irate when questioned about his citizenship at the Pilot Travel Center at 769 E. Frontage Road.

Trained agents

It has since been discovered that Cholio, who was born in Veracruz, Mexico, was in the United States illegally, Estrada said.

Queried about the two incidents occurring in such a short span of time, Soto said, "It's just unfortunate circumstances ... but it is a part of our normal day to day operations. Our agents are trained to defend themselves. And that's what they're doing. It's a defensive action to stop an aggressive action."

Two shootings in less than seven days, though, is not indicative of any changes in BP tactics, Soto said, adding that "there is an increase in violence across the border, but that has been going on for several years. When the border was sealed, the frustration levels went up on both sides."

Soto does want Santa Cruz County residents to know, however, that they should not let these two incidents make them feel any less safe.

"We do this because we want to make this community a safe place to live," he said. "We're committed to not only a secure border, but a safer border, too. We just want to let these smugglers know that they can not use Santa Cruz County as a staging ground."

This should be sending the message to Washington that our border problems are increasingly worse (and will continue to worsen) since we put the NG and the Minuteman are there. The drug cartels, smugglers, coyotes are going to get much more violent and stories such as this will most likely become "everyday stories".

How stupid can our officials be? (don't answer that) Common sense tells us that when the "used to be safe" drug routes are now heavily guarded, this is cutting into the overall profit for drug cartels. Do our officials think that drug cartels are just going to lay down and say "OK, MY BAD, YOU CAUGHT US."? No, they are going to do everything in their power to protect their "investment" (strange way to put it).
Hell even a 2nd grader could figure that one out!

Mexican citizens are not allowed to own fire arms. How are these drug smugglers coming out of Mexico with guns? Mexico needs to get control of their criminals, which are coming to the US. Why don't we sue Mexico for thier criminal citizens firing on our lawmen? I think Mexico owes us some answers, to why they are not securing their side of the border. That gun packing dope dealer past thru their border security before he got to ours.

We can thank the BP for stopping crime and killers.

Dixie