A Tucson man was in serious condition after being shot in the back of the head at the DeConcini Port of Entry, a Mexican Red Cross official said Friday.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer shot the man after he refused to stop at the port of entry in a southbound vehicle at about 7 p.m. Thursday, a CPB news release said.
“The vehicle fled south, subsequently stopping several yards into Mexico. During this encounter, the officer discharged his firearm,” the CBP news release said.
The officer involved was not injured. His name was not released.
The Customs and Border Protection statement did not specify why the officer used potentially lethal force.
The CBP statement Friday also made no reference to reports Thursday night, which were relayed by Nogales, Arizona, Mayor Arturo Garino, that the driver tried to run over a CBP officer before he was shot.
It also wasn’t clear from the CBP statement whether the shooting took place on the U.S. side of the border.
After the shooting, officers of the Mexican equivalent of CBP reportedly surrounded the vehicle and removed the driver, who was taken to a hospital.
Rafael González Domínguez, a Mexican Red Cross official, confirmed the condition of the man Friday morning and said he was at a Nogales, Sonora, hospital. He said the man is a U.S. citizen, in his early 20s, who lives in Tucson.
The man’s identity has yet to be released by CBP.
Thursday’s initial reports incorrectly said the driver died at the scene. On Friday, CBP’s statement only confirmed he was wounded and taken to a hospital.
An unharmed passenger in the pickup was detained at the scene, the Nogales International newspaper reported.
CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility and Homeland Security Investigations are looking into the incident.
