Federal officers at a Nogales port of entry shot and wounded the driver of a vehicle that attempted to hit officers while heading into Mexico on Thursday afternoon.

The incident occurred at the Mariposa crossing and required officials to shut down the southbound traffic lanes at the crossing for most of the day.

Initial reports said the driver of a vehicle attempted to evade Border Patrol agents at the port and the driver headed south through the port and swerved his vehicle in an apparent attempt to hit officers. Customs and Border Protection officers and a Border Patrol agent fired at the vehicle, according to a news release from the task force that oversees those agencies.

The driver was shot multiple times and was airlifted to a Tucson hospital. A passenger in the vehicle sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken into custody. No officer or agents were injured.

The condition of the driver was not available.

Authorities shut down southbound traffic through the Mariposa Port of Entry for the rest of the day while federal authorities investigated the incident. Northbound traffic is still coming through the port.Β 


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Contact Curt at 573-4224 or cprendergast@tucson.com