A 26-year-old suspected smuggler who was shot multiple times while trying to flee into Mexico through a Nogales port was in stable condition Friday in a Tucson hospital, offficials said.
The shooting occurred Thursday afternoon and shut down the southbound lanes of the Mariposa crossing for several hours.
The incident began when Border Patrol agents investigating smuggling activities west of the port became suspicious of a Dodge pickup truck and attempted to follow the vehicle before it sped away toward the port, according to a news release from Customs and Border Protection.
When agents arrived at the crossing, they saw the truck stopped in traffic bound for Mexico. When the truck's driver saw officers approaching him on foot, he accelerated the truck toward the officers. CBP officers and a Border Patrol agent fired multiple times at the driver, the release said.
The driver, a Mexican national, was shot several times. He was airlifted to Banner-University Medical Center in Tucson, where he was recovering Friday. A 16-year-old male passenger sustained non-life-threatening injuries and is in Border Patrol custody.
No officers or agents were injured.
Several federal agencies, including the FBI, are investigating the shooting.
