Mex. Nat'l. Shot, Wounded in Rock-Throwing Incident w/BP
Mexican national shot and wounded in rock throwing incident against BP agent
January 28, 2009 - 12:10 PM
BY JAMES GILBERT, SUN STAFF WRITER
A Yuma station Border Patrol agent shot and wounded a Mexican national who was one of several people throwing rocks at the agent early Tuesday morning, the U.S. Border Patrol said.
Agent Ben Vik, spokesman for the Border Patrol's Yuma Sector, said the shooting is under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) office in Phoenix.
Vik said the agent, who was not identified, was patrolling in the vicinity of San Luis, west of the port of entry, when he saw two illegal immigrants at about 5:30 a.m. between two parallel border fences carrying a ladder.
As the agent approached, Vik said, they dropped the ladder and fled back into Mexico by climbing over the primary fence, the fence closest to the Mexican side.
Vik said when the agent attempted to retrieve the ladder, he was assaulted by a barrage of rocks and bricks thrown by several people standing on the fence.
In the course of that assault, the agent fired one shot from his M-4 carbine rifle towards the group of assailants, Vik said.
Although the agent's vehicle sustained heavy damage from the rock throwing assault, the agent only received superficial wounds.
The Sun has contacted the FBI office in Phoenix and is currently waiting for a response.
In a story published Wednesday, La Prensa, a newspaper in San Luis Rio Colorado, identified the person who was shot as 23-year-old Armando Loredo Murrieta.
The La Prensa article quotes Murrietta as saying that after he climbed the border fence and was about 600 meters inside the United States, was when he saw the Border Patrol agent.
Upon spotting the agent, according to Murrietta's version of the incident printed in La Prensa, he turned around and began running back toward the border and was shot once in the back by the agent.
Murrietta said once he got back into Mexico his brother took him to the hospital, where doctors removed a .40-caliber bullet, according to the La Prensa article.
The M-4 carbine used by Border Patrol agents fires a .223-caliber bullet.
The La Prensa article also stated that prior to the shooting there was a rock throwing incident going on in the area and that maybe the shooting was related.
James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.
http://www.yumasun.com/news/shot_47454_ ... owing.html
