A migrant who was shot to death by a Border Patrol agent northeast of Douglas was killed while the agent was attempting to arrest him, the agency said Wednesday.
The incident occurred Saturday, Feb. 19, around 9 p.m. when two Border Patrol agents were dispatched from Douglas for reports of undocumented migrants in a remote area, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection statement.
After arriving by horseback in an area about 32 miles northeast of Douglas known as Skeleton Canyon, they dismounted and continued, according to the statement.
Soon after, the agents encountered three migrants and took them into custody. Then, the agents spotted a fourth person who was attempting to escape by running downhill into a canyon, and one of the agents pursued him.
“One of the Border Patrol agents followed this individual and while taking him into custody discharged his firearm fatally wounding the migrant, tentatively identified as a citizen of Mexico,” the statement said.
The agents radioed for medical assistance and determined the man was dead before other units arrived. During the search around the area after the incident, agents arrested two additional migrants believed to be part of the same group, and they were transported to Douglas.
The Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office reported on Tuesday that the migrant died from multiple gunshot wounds.
The names of the agents involved in the incident and the deceased migrant were not released.
The Cochise County Sherriff’s Office is leading the investigation into the incident and it is under review by the U.S. Border and Custom Protection Office of Professional Responsibility.
“The Mexican government condemns any act of unjustified violence against migrants,” the Consulate of Mexico said in a statement.
Personnel at the consulate interviewed the other migrants who were taken into custody and is monitoring development of the situation.
The consulate knows the man’s identity and is providing assistance to his family, including his mother and wife, who live in the Mexican state of Puebla, southeast of Mexico City.
