http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/170253

Man shot in altercation with Border Patrol agents
By Brady McCombs
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 02.21.2007

A Border Patrol agent shot a suspected illegal entrant three times early Wednesday morning at a Rio Rico gas station after the man became combative and reportedly started throwing rocks, officials said.
The shooting victim, believed to be between 20-30 years old who has not yet identified, was in stable condition Wednesday morning with non-life threatening injuries after being airlifted to a Tucson hospital, said Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada. The man suffered a wound to his arm and a grazing wound to his torso, he said.
The encounter occurred shortly after 4 a.m. at the Pilot gas station/fast-food store just south of Rio Rico off of Interstate 19. Three Border Patrol agents were at the gas station on break to get coffee when they spotted a man they suspected was an illegal border crosser near the gas pump, Estrada said.
When they approached him to ask him questions to determine his immigration status, he refused to answer and became combative. At one point, he pointed his finger at them and threatened to kill them, Estrada said.
The agents, including one supervisor, called and asked for assistance from a Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputy, who arrived within minutes, Estrada said. He was there with the people involved for a few minutes but was walking back to his vehicle when he heard shots fired, Estrada said.
The man had reportedly picked up a rock and launched it at the agents, prompting the shooting, Estrada said. The deputy wasn't leaving the scene, but its unclear why he was walking back to his car, he said.
The male Border Patrol agent who fired the shots has been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard agency protocol, said Gustavo Soto, Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokesman. The other agents at the scene did not shoot and will continue working, he said.
Agents have the authority to question people who they suspect could be illegal entrants during the course of their work, Soto said. He doesn't know what tipped agents off Wednesday morning about the man but said agents are often alerted by people who avoid eye contact, try to hide or avoid drawing attention to themselves. Sometimes, the interviews reveal the person is here legally, he said.
"Some people do complain but they know it's part of our job," said Soto, about the interviews.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office investigators, who are handling the investigation, were at the Tucson hospital Wednesday morning interviewing the man.
They have contacted the Mexican Consulate in Tucson, who will send a representative to the hospital to help determine the man's identity and his immigration status. He man carried no identification, Estrada said.
"We have lot of reason to suspect he was here illegally but we have to confirm that," Estrada said.
This is the second Border Patrol agent related shooting of 2007. On Jan. 12, about 150 yards north of the border between Bisbee and Douglas, a male agent shot and killed a 22-year-old Mexican illegal border crosser who had been apprehended along with six others and got into a reported scuffle with the agent.
The Cochise County Sheriff's Office is handling the investigation and has yet to release any more information.
Border Patrol agents in the Tucson Sector have been assaulted 63 times through the first four months of fiscal year 2007, 40 of which involved throwing rocks, Soto said.