Thread: Mexican government says US Border Patrol agent fatally shot Mexican on border

By Associated Press, Updated: Wednesday, September 5, 8:19 PM

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department says a Mexican has been fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent on the frontier between the cities of Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

The department says in a Wednesday statement that the Mexican government has strongly protested the shooting, and reiterated its objection to the use of force by Border Patrol agents. The statement doesn’t given any details of the shooting.

A Border Patrol spokesman hasn’t responded to a request for comment.

Mexican government says US Border Patrol agent fatally shot Mexican on border - The Washington Post

I just love this crap." Mexico " we can shoot and kill American's but they better not shoot back or that would be racist!!!! THAT ABOUT RIGHT??????

God is there any way that you help us to change these neighbors by other better.

Yes get obama the hell out & some one with back bone . In the wh & the only one with this is gov jan or Joe
Come On Gov wake the hell up

No mention of what the sweet innocent Mexican citizen was doing at the time? Throwing stones, shooting at the agent, smuggling drugs? And which side of the border?

Am I supposed to feel bad about this? Somehow I seriously doubt the BP Agent was using this mexican as "target practice"! Tell the WHOLE story.

By JUAN CARLOS LLORCA Associated Press
EL PASO, Texas September 6, 2012 (AP)

The FBI and Border Patrol are investigating after the Mexican government said a Mexican citizen was killed when a U.S. agent patrolling the Rio Grande fired his weapon across the border, a Border Patrol spokesman said Thursday.

Border agents were aboard a boat near Laredo when a group of people began throwing rocks at them Monday, Border Patrol spokesman Bill Brooks said. One of the agents fired shots across the border toward Nuevo Laredo.

Brooks said it wasn't immediately clear to the agents whether anyone was hit by the bullets. Mexico's Foreign Relations Department issued a statement Wednesday saying a Mexican citizen had been fatally shot.

FBI spokesman Erick Vasys said his agency is investigating the rock-throwing as an attack on federal officers, while the shooting will be part of an internal review by the Border Patrol.

"We normally and regularly open investigations when a federal officer is assaulted," Vasys said. "Especially if gunfire is involved."

The Mexican foreign relations department's statement protested the use of what it called disproportionate force in immigration control and demanded thorough investigation of the incident. Ricardo Alday, spokesman at the Mexican embassy in Washington, said the Mexican government still is gathering information on the case and also expects to get the results of the investigations by U.S. authorities.

Border agents are generally allowed to use lethal force against rock throwers.

In 2010, a 15-year-old boy was killed by bullets fired by a U.S. Border Patrol agent from El Paso, Texas, into Juarez, Mexico. Some witnesses said people on the Mexican side of the river, including the teen, were throwing rocks at the agent as he tried to arrest an illegal immigrant crossing the Rio Grande.

Senior U.S. District Judge David Briones in El Paso last year dismissed a lawsuit by the family of the boy because the teen was on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande when he was shot. U.S. law gives the government immunity when such claims arise in a foreign country, Briones noted, and the "harm that the Plaintiffs allege ... was felt in Mexico."

A U.S. Department of Justice investigation, which included interviews with more than 25 civilian and law-enforcement witnesses, determined no federal civil rights charges could be pursued because "accident, mistake, misperception, negligence and bad judgment were not sufficient to establish a federal criminal civil rights violation."

"This review took into account evidence indicating that the agent's actions constituted a reasonable use of force or would constitute an act of self-defense in response to the threat created by a group of smugglers hurling rocks at the agent and his detainee," the department said.

One Old Vet

US Feds Investigate Reported Fatal Border Shooting - ABC News

We are supposed to believe this first of all, they kill 30 times that many daily in Mexico anyway. Their own police and cartel's kill so many in Mexico they can't keep count. Besides, they assaulted an American just trying to do his job.
I am sorry but I do not feel bad about this guy getting shot and killed. They need more force on the border anyway.

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Mexico says citizen shot by US Border Patrol agent near Texas

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Last summer, authorities said Border Patrol agents and rangers with the Texas Department of Public Safety exchanged about 300 rounds of gunfire with suspected drug smugglers. Officials said the suspects threw rocks at U.S. lawmen in that incident, too.

MEXICO CITY – A Mexican citizen has been fatally shot by U.S. Border Patrol agents on the border with Texas in an incident that the Mexican government is calling a disproportionate use of force.

The Border Patrol said Saturday that agents had opened fire along the Rio Grande on the Texas-Mexico border after being pelted by rocks and having a gunman point a weapon in their direction from the Mexican side of the river. The agency said it did not know if anyone else was hurt, but the FBI was investigating.

The Mexican Foreign Ministry said late Sunday that a citizen had been killed by a gunshot fired by a U.S. agent at the Los Tomates-Veterans international bridge. It did not identify the victim or provide details about the incident. Mexico said its consulate in Brownsville had sent U.S. authorities a message demanding an exhaustive investigation without regard to the consequences.

"The Mexican government has said once again that the disproportionate use of force for purposes of immigration enforcement is unacceptable under any circumstances," the Foreign Ministry said.

Border Patrol spokesman Henry Mendiola said several people had been taken into custody but that he could not provide details about the suspects or charges they face.

One of the agents started shooting after being "unable to take cover" when rocks were thrown, while the other opened fire after seeing a suspect on the Mexican side of the river pointing a gun at him, Mendiola said.

He added that as rocks were thrown, "at least one of the agents feared for his life." The Border Patrol released few other details about the incident, including what the suspects were doing along the river.

Border Patrol agents seizing 4,000 pounds of marijuana in March got into a shootout with drug smugglers. In that incident, it also was not known whether anyone on the Mexican side was hit.

Last summer, authorities said Border Patrol agents and rangers with the Texas Department of Public Safety exchanged about 300 rounds of gunfire with suspected drug smugglers. Officials said the suspects threw rocks at U.S. lawmen in that incident, too.

In 2010, a Border Patrol agent in El Paso shot and killed a 15-year-old Mexican boy across the Rio Grande. Investigators say the agent fired after being attacked by people throwing rocks.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/07...nt-near-texas/

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FBI investigates Texas border shooting

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VIDEO: Cross border shooting response to rock throwing

In one instance, an unidentified individual threw rocks at a border agent. The agent “fired his service weapon in defense” when he was unable to take cover, the statement said.

At about the same time, another agent said he saw a person aim a weapon at him and he, too, fired his gun in defense, the statement said.

U.S. authorities investigating a Saturday morning shooting along the Texas-Mexico border said one person was deceased when they were taken to a hospital in Mexico shortly after the incident.

It was unclear if the person, described as a 29-year-old male, was involved in the shooting, but some claim the man was shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection released a statement Tuesday recalling “two dangerous encounters.”

In one instance, an unidentified individual threw rocks at a border agent. The agent “fired his service weapon in defense” when he was unable to take cover, the statement said.

At about the same time, another agent said he saw a person aim a weapon at him and he, too, fired his gun in defense, the statement said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incidents. Mexico has been notified by the encounters and calls them a disproportionate use of force.

The Mexican Foreign Ministry said late Sunday that a citizen had been killed by a gunshot fired by a U.S. agent at the Los Tomates-Veterans international bridge. It did not identify the victim or provide details about the incident. Mexico said its consulate in Brownsville had sent U.S. authorities a message demanding an exhaustive investigation without regard to the consequences.

"The Mexican government has said once again that the disproportionate use of force for purposes of immigration enforcement is unacceptable under any circumstances," the Foreign Ministry said.

Juana Maria Soto of Matamoros said her brother, 30-year-old Juan Pablo Perez Soto, was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent Saturday morning. She said she had received little information, but she believes her brother was on the Mexican river bank cutting firewood and said she understood that the agent crossed to the Mexican side to shoot him.

Border Patrol spokesman Henry Mendiola said Monday that the incident remains under investigation and they have not confirmed that someone was shot, but he disputed any suggestion that agents crossed the border into Mexico.

"Our agents are not going to go into Mexico to neutralize something like this," Mendiola said.

He said Border Patrol agents came upon a group of people on the U.S. side Saturday morning. They detained some while others retreated toward the river and began throwing rocks.

One agent who was not able to escape the rocks fired toward the group, Mendiola said. At the same time, another agent at the scene saw a person across the river in Mexico point a rifle toward them. That agent fired across the river, Mendiola said.

Soto said her 14-year-old son was one of those detained by Border Patrol. She has not been able to speak with him, but said the Mexican Consulate told her he was unharmed.

Mendiola said several people had been taken into custody but that he could not provide details about the suspects or charges they face.

Border Patrol agents seizing 4,000 pounds of marijuana in March got into a shootout with drug smugglers. In that incident, it also was not known whether anyone on the Mexican side was hit.

Last summer, authorities said Border Patrol agents and rangers with the Texas Department of Public Safety exchanged about 300 rounds of gunfire with suspected drug smugglers. Officials said the suspects threw rocks at U.S. lawmen in that incident, too.

In 2010, a Border Patrol agent in El Paso shot and killed a 15-year-old Mexican boy across the Rio Grande. Investigators say the agent fired after being attacked by people throwing rocks.

Fox News' Edmund DeMarche and the Associated Press contributed to this report

FBI investigates Texas border shooting | Fox News