Person shot dead at US border

Herald Sun ^ | 19 May 2006

[Aussie Dasher]

US authorities shot dead a person apparently trying to illegally cross into the United States from Mexico, police said.

The victim was apparently in a car trying to drive past the San Ysidro border control post in southern California when border patrol officers fired, Gary Hassen, a spokesman for nearby San Diego police, said.

The San Ysidro post, between the Mexican city of Tijuana and San Diego, is one of the busiest in the world, with 14 million cars and 40 million people crossing into the United States every year.

The shooting comes amid a heated debate in the US over illegal immigration from Mexico.

[MJY1288]

LOL, the real dilemma is whether the journalist will admit it :-)

[onyx]

There is one truth: the coyote was trying to REENTER Mexico.

[jazusamo]

Here's a link to an article in another paper.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060518-1950-ca-bordershooting.html

[Mark Koch]

Does it matter?

[AgThorn]

From the San Diego paper ....

By Thomas Watkins

ASSOCIATED PRESS

7:50 p.m. May 18, 2006

EARNIE GRAFTON / Union-Tribune

Traffic is at a standstill after Border Patrol and Customs agents shoot and kill the driver of a black SUV (left) they had been tailing.

SAN DIEGO – The busy U.S-Mexico Port of Entry was shut down for hours Thursday after federal authorities shot and killed the driver of a car headed for Mexico, officials said.

The shooting occurred on southbound Interstate 5 around 3:30 p.m. about 50 feet north of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world's busiest border crossing, which links Tijuana with San Diego.

The driver, who was not immediately identified, was pronounced dead at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds, said Maurice Luque, a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. No other injuries were reported.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents began following a black Dodge Durango sport-utility vehicle after a citizen reported seeing the vehicle pick up suspected illegal immigrants near the U.S.-side of the Otay Mesa border crossing, said Lt. Kevin Rooney of San Diego Police Department.

The car went west on Interstate 905, then on I-5 southbound toward Mexico, said Rooney.

As traffic backed up near the border, the vehicle stopped on the shoulder. When agents approached, the suspect “began to drive off and he veered hard to the left, trying to get back in traffic,” said Rooney.

Two agents then opened fire, said Rooney.

Anna Valderrama of Tijuana, who was about four vehicles back when the shooting occurred, said she saw four people in the vehicle.

“I've been living in Tijuana for about 12 years and I've never seen something like this,” said Valderrama, who had been kept waiting for more than two hours.

The other occupants, whose identities were not released, had been taken into custody and were being interrogated, said Rooney.

The black Durango sat in the middle of the roadway late Thursday with a shattered driver's side window. The California Highway Patrol sealed off southbound access to the border and rush-hour traffic was being redirected to the nearby Otay Mesa crossing.

[stainlessbanner]

Thanks for the clarification onyx

[onyx]

The foreign newspaper got its info from Washington, D.C. correspondents. For crying out loud...lol.

[KittyKares]

I have some concerns about this myself. There will be a lawsuit, protests, we will flagellate ourselves for being such a mean nation, and any progress in enforcing the border will be hindered.

[SoCalPol]

Local news on, they are just taking the body out of the van now.
The Border is still closed and thousands of cars were rerouted to the Otay crossing here.

When the B.P. told the guy to stop he did all the wrong things.

[politicket]

So...did the Border Patrol agent just happen to be standing next to the driver's door when the driver decided to veer sharply left to get back into traffic?

If so, then the shooting was justified.

[daybreakcoming]

We get one going BACK to Mexico and we shoot him. What is wrong with this picture? I know, I know....read where he is er was a suspected coyote but it just struck me as screwy as everything else is about this immigration thing.

[onyx]

Point taken, but criminals flee to Mexico all the time.
This lucky b&stard got what he deserved.

[onyx]

Thanks for the local update.

[sinkspur]

This lucky b&stard got what he deserved.

Yikes! Let's wait and see what the circumstances were.

If these officers had no reason to be in fear for their lives, this shooting was not justified. No law enforcement agency that I know of teaches shooting unarmed people who are running away.

If, OTOH, the guy was trying to run them over, it was self-defense.

[SoCalPol]

From the San Diego NBC web site


Fatal Shooting Shuts Down Border Crossing
Thousdands Stranded On Highway

POSTED: 4:08 pm PDT May 18, 2006
UPDATED: 9:26 pm PDT May 18, 2006

Email This Story | Print This Story

SAN DIEGO -- The San Ysidro Port of Entry was shut down Thursday after federal authorities shot and killed the driver of a car headed for Mexico, officials said.



The shooting occurred on southbound Interstate 5 around 3:30 p.m. about 50 feet north of the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

The driver, who was not immediately identified, was pronounced dead at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds, said Maurice Luque, a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.


The incident occurred after U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents began following a black Dodge Durango sport-utility vehicle after a citizen reported seeing it pick up suspected illegal immigrants near the U.S.-side of the Otay Mesa border crossing, said Lt. Kevin Rooney of San Diego Police Department. It is unclear why a vehicle traveling into Mexico would have been transporting smuggled people.

The car went westbound on Interstate 905, then on I-5 southbound toward Mexico, said Rooney. As traffic backed up near the border, the vehicle stopped on the shoulder. When agents approached, the suspect "began to drive off and he veered hard to the left, trying to get back in traffic," said Rooney.

A federal agent rapped on the Durango's window with his baton, but the driver accelerated and the agent opened fire, according to witnesses. There were no immediate reports of any other injuries. Five other people in the vehicle were taken into custody, NBC 7/39 reported.

"All I heard was a series of shots, three or four shots," said witness John McNeese. "Then I saw people run over to the fence on the other side and look down, and suddenly there were police everywhere."

The California Highway Patrol reopened northbound lanes shortly before 9 p.m. Southbound lanes were still closed.

Earlier in the day, rush-hour traffic was backed up for more than a mile and thousands of motorists became stranded on the highway in their cars. Many drivers on the north side of the border stood on top of their cars and some were seen driving backwards on the freeway, NBC 7/39 reported. Traffic was also heavy at the Otay Mesa border crossing, as drivers find alternative routes.

The border remained open to pedestrian traffic. About 55,000 cars and 35,000 pedestrians cross through the San Ysidro Port of Entry every day, NBC 7/39 reported.
Copyright 2006 by NBCSandiego.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[Dallas59]

So what?

[staytrue]

Would a person who tried to run over a border agent now be called a victim?

I think you got it backwards.

"The Jim Hogg County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of an undocumented immigrant who was run over by a border patrol agent during a chase on a ranch here early Wednesday, authorities said. "

[CAluvdubya]

Just taking his cargo home is all. Illegals? Shhhh, not supposed to ask!

The news had more about the MM at Rancho Penasquito. If I could find them, I'd join them!

[onyx]

Thank you for the posting.

[SwordofTruth]

I have no idea what the rules of engagement are for Border Patrol, but I can tell you that a local cop around here who shoots at a fleeing car and kills someone will likely lose his job.

Illegally crossing our border is a little more serious than speeding, wouldn't you agree?