Hourly Update

Authorities investigate shooting of Mexican man by Border Patrol

The Cochise County Sheriff's Department and the FBI are investigating the shooting death of a Mexican man by a U.S. Border Patrol agent early Wednesday near Portal, on the Arizona/New Mexico border. The man, whose identity has not yet been released, was shot at about 2:45 a.m., after the Ford Aerostar Van he was driving was pulled over by an El Paso Sector Border Patrol agent. The shooting occurred as the agent tried to arrest the driver, said Susan Herskovits, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Phoenix. Sheriff's deputies were called just before 3 a.m. by Hidalgo County deputies, who were the first to arrive at the scene, said Carol Capas, a spokeswoman for the Cochise County Sheriff's Department. The shooting occurred after Border Patrol agents from the El Paso Sector stopped a van carrying 17 illegal border crossers. The case is still under investigation, but no weapon had been recovered from the van by early Thursday afternoon, she said. She said Portal Fire and Rescue medical technicians responded, but declared the man dead at the scene. Capas said the Cochise County Sheriff's Department is conducting a joint investigation into the shooting death with the FBI. She said FBI officials had asked that she refer all other questions to them. Border Patrol officials in El Paso also referred questions to the FBI in Phoenix. Herskovits said the shooting is being investigated as an assault on a federal officer. She said the rest of the people in the van were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers for questioning and processing for deportation.