Border Patrol agent shoots and wounds man



UNION-TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS TEAM

6:57 a.m. August 13, 2008

SAN DIEGO – A rock throwing incident at the border in San Ysidro escalated into a shooting Tuesday night when a Border Patrol agent opened fire on a group of people in Mexico, striking one man in the torso, according to authorities.
Agents were patrolling the area at Virginia Avenue near the U.S. Mexico border fence about 10 p.m. when they were attacked by a group of people who threw large rocks at them, said San Diego police homicide Lt. Terry McManus.

The agents fired pepper balls and other chemical agents at the group in an attempt to disperse them before the agent fired his gun, McManus said.

The crowd then ran away.

A 23-year-old man was hit in the chest and was treated at a hospital in Tijuana, McManus said. His condition is not known.

McManus said the unidentified agent, who has been with the Border patrol for ten years, feared for his life and the safety of other agents when he fired his weapon.

Border Patrol supervising agent Richard Smith said Wednesday morning there have been 330 assaults on agents so far this year, compared to 254 reported incidents in all of 2007.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.




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Debbi Baker: (619) 293-1710; debbi.baker@uniontrib.com









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