A man shot and killed by a border patrol shooter earlier this month near the California-Mexico border was shot to death because he threatened migrants with a firearm, federal officials said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently released new details about the March 3 shooting, in which a 32-year-old Mexican national was killed not far from the Otay Mesa port of entry border checkpoint. The man has not been publicly identified.
According to the federal agency, a tactical border patrol unit was set up that day near a paved highway that runs through the Otay Mountains, a few miles east of the Otay Mesa border crossing, after reports of armed robberies and assaults Targeting immigrants trying to cross into the United States.
Border agents, who were in a hidden position, saw the man threaten a group of migrants by carrying a firearm and pointing it at them, according to the border patrol statement. At that moment, a Border Patrol sharpshooter fired one shot at the gunman, fatally wounding him.
No other injuries were reported in the shooting. Investigators said they recovered a gun near the man who was killed.
A border patrol union leader had previously described the incident as a “shooting battle,” but federal officials said only one shot was fired.
Investigators also interviewed other witnesses, whose recollection of the event matched that of border agents, according to the statement. Witnesses said the gunman, who was with at least three other people, had demanded money from the immigrants.
Emergency medical crews arrived minutes after the shooting, and despite CPR efforts, the man was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. Autopsy results from the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office have not been released.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not release video of the shooting but said it was “committed to quickly releasing body camera footage of this incident as soon as appropriate and without impacting ongoing law enforcement investigations.”
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department, the FBI and the Border Patrol's Office of Professional Responsibility continue to investigate, officials said.
