Migrant Shot, Killed While Pursued by Agent in Arizona near Border

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials confirmed that a man believed to be a Mexican migrant died following the discharge of a Border Patrol agent’s weapon. The incident took place on February 19 in Skeleton Canyon, Arizona, northeast of Douglas.

Douglas Station Horse Patrol Unit agents responded Sunday night to a remote mountainous region located about 32 miles northeast of Douglas, CBP officials said on Wednesday in an updated statement on the incident. Due to the rugged terrain, agents dismounted as they arrived in the area where electronic monitoring indicated migrants were moving.

The agents apprehended three migrants at the scene and then observed a fourth attempting to evade arrest by fleeing down the hillside, officials stated.

“One of the Border Patrol agents followed this individual and while taking him into custody discharged his firearm fatally wounding the migrant,” CBP officials stated. The new information tentatively identified the man as a Mexican national.

The agents called for medical assistance and were later joined by members of the Border Search, Trauma, and Rescue (BORSTAR) team and a Border Patrol paramedic. Other agents searching the area found and apprehended two additional migrants.

The surviving migrants were transported to the Douglas Border Patrol Station for processing. Officials said the incident is being investigated by the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Mark Dannels told Breitbart Texas his investigators completed their interviews on Wednesday evening and expect to release additional information later on Thursday.

CBP officials did not disclose how the agent’s firearm was discharged. It is not known if the agent attempted to fire in self-defense, or if there was an accidental discharge.

The Cochise County, Arizona, Sheriff’s Office reported they received information at about 10 a.m. on Saturday morning regarding the death of a migrant near Skeleton Canyon, Breitbart reported on Tuesday.

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