Mexican youth shot by border agent on Monday: the full video

This is the full ten minutes of film of the shooting on Monday.

The Border Patrol Union has released the following statement:

The National Border Patrol Council said the still-unidentified agent acted appropriately after Sergio Adrian Hernandez Huereka, 15, started throwing rocks in his direction.

"Since biblical times, rocks have been used as a crude but effective weapon to injure and kill humans," the union said. "On June 8, 2010, when Border Patrol Agents were assaulted at the U.S./Mexico border by several individuals armed with rocks, they were forced to defend themselves and their fellow agents. Border Patrol Agents are not trained, nor paid to withstand violent assaults without the ability to defend themselves. Rocks are weapons and constitute deadly force."

The union also stated, "While the loss of this teenager’s life is regrettable, it is due solely to his decision to pick up a rock and assault a United States Border Patrol Agent. We stand behind the actions of the agents who did their duty in El Paso, and are confident that the investigation into his incident will justify their actions."

Please note what was NOT said here. There is no accusation that the teen actually HIT the agent, and as I said before, I'm not certain why the adult with the gun didn't stand back out of the range of the rock throwers. These kids are not Stephen Strassburg, after all.

Border Patrol Agent Kills Mexican Teen--on Mexican side of the Border

This article from today's Washington Post discusses the case of a Border Patrol agent who shot and killed a Mexican teen who was standing on the Mexican side of the border.  Allegedly the teen and his friends were taunting and throwing rocks at a group of agents, and one agent shot and killed the boy in response.

This is a terrible tragedy.  I understand that there must be an incredible amount of attention on the border right now.  Nevertheless, as a nation we cannot allow this type of behavior under any circumstances.

Border death

A border patrol office shot and killed a Mexican attempting to cross the border last week, according to a New York Times report. The immigrant, Francisco Javier Domínguez Rivera, a 22 year old native of Puebla, was shot as he and six others were being taken into custody by a Border Patrol agent. The shooting took place shortly after Domínguez Rivera and his companions crossed illegally into Cochise County in southeastern Arizona. Before he was shot, Mr. Domínguez Rivera scuffled with the agent, whose identity was not released, a Border Patrol spokesman said. Initial reports indicate the Mr. Domínguez Rivera was unarmed.

Mexico's President Felipe Calderon, condemned the shooting and asked for an official inquiry.

This was the first fatal shooting by a Border Patrol officer since August 26, 2006.