A migrant killed by a Border Patrol agent northeast of Douglas on Feb. 19 was shot multiple times, the Pima County Medical Examiner’s said.
No further details have been released about the migrant, the agent involved or the circumstances surrounding the shooting, which occurred in Cochise County.
Further autopsy details are pending the release of the full report.
The deadly encounter occurred around 10 p.m. Saturday near Skeleton Canyon, in the Peloncillo Mountains near the state line with New Mexico.
The Cochise County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release that it went to the area to answer a call about a seriously injured migrant.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection area spokesman John Mennell confirmed Monday to the Associated Press that an agent was the shooter.
“Early indications are that one male subject, presumed to be an illegal immigrant, was fatally wounded by a Border Patrol agent who was on duty with additional personnel,” the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department said Sunday night in its initial news release.
A Border Patrol medic treated the wounded migrant, but the man died at the scene, the Sheriff’s Department release says.
The identity and nationality of the dead man were not immediately disclosed.
Five Mexican nationals were apprehended in the same incident, and they had been interviewed by various agencies, the Mexican consulate said in a news release Monday.
It said the Mexican government lamented the fatal encounter.
“The government of Mexico rejects any act of unjustified violence against migrants,” the consulate release says.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety helped retrieve the man’s body early Sunday.
Several agencies are involved in investigating the incident, including the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and the Sheriff’s Department.
