Officials say Border Patrol agent shoots suspect after confrontation at international bridge

Officials: Border agent shoots suspect at bridge

EL PASO, Texas — A U.S. Border Patrol agent shot and killed a 14-year-old boy after a confrontation at an international bridge near downtown El Paso, Mexican authorities said Tuesday.

Agents detaining suspected illegal immigrants Monday came under assault from rock throwers across the border in Mexico, FBI spokeswoman Andrea Simmons said.

The FBI is leading the investigation because it involved an assault on a federal officer. The agent was not injured, she said.

Chihuahua State officials released a statement Tuesday demanding a full investigation into the death of the boy, identified as Sergio Adrian Hernandez Huereca.

It was not immediately known if the boy was among the rock throwers.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Doug Mosier said preliminary reports indicated one person was shot Monday evening on the U.S. side of the Paso Del Norte bridge, across from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

The Rio Grande, which marks the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas, is now a broad muddy moat flanked by shallow concrete banks.

T.J. Bonner, president of the union representing Border Patrol agents, said rock throwing incidents against Border Patrol agents are common and capable of causing serious injury.

“It is a deadly force encounter,” Bonner said. “One that justifies the use of deadly force.”

The violence in Mexico combined with assaults against Border Patrol agents in the U.S. has increased the level of apprehension agents have about their safety, Bonner said.

Less than two weeks ago, Mexican migrant Anastacio Hernandez, 32, died after a Customs and Border Protection officer shocked him with a stun gun at the San Ysidro border crossing that separates San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico.

Last week the San Diego medical examiner’s office ruled that death a homicide.