By Glynnesha Taylor
ticklethewire.com
A U.S. Border Patrol agent on a bicycle shot and killed a 15-year-old Mexican boy Monday at an international bridge near downtown El Paso during a rock throwing incident, authorities said, according to the Associated Press.
According to authorities, agents had detained suspected illegal immigrants when some people started hurling rocks at the agents and one agent opened fire, AP and the El Paso Times reported.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Doug Mosier said preliminary reports indicated the teen was shot on the U.S. side of the Paso Del Norte Bridge, across from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, AP reported.
The teen was identified as Sergio Adrian Hernandez Huereca, AP reported, adding that it was unclear if he was throwing rocks.
Andrea Simmons,an FBI spokeswoman, said her agency was leading the investigation into the matter because it involves a federal agent, AP reported.
T.J. Bonner, president of the union representing Border Patrol agents, told AP that rock throwing incidents targeting Border Patrol agents are common and potentially dangerous.
“It is a deadly force encounter,” Bonner said. “One that justifies the use of deadly force.”
Less than two week ago, a 32-year-old Mexican migrant died after a Customs and Border Protection officer shocked him with a stung gun at the California-Mexico border. That death has been ruled a homicide, AP reported.
