NOGALES, AZ — A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer shot and wounded a 21-year-old U.S. citizen who was trying to enter Mexico at a crossing in Arizona, the agency said Saturday morning.
According to a statement from CBP, around 7 p.m. on February 7, a team of officers had been informed that "an older model, tan-colored Ford pick-up truck, with a license plate registered to a different vehicle, [was] attempting to exit the United States with two male occupants."
Officers approached the truck and attempted to question the driver, but the driver accelerated the truck and drove into Mexico.
A CBP officer fired his weapon at the vehicle, striking the 21-year-old male driver. The passenger of the vehicle was unharmed.
The truck crossed a few yards into Mexico before the driver of the truck hit a cement barrier, according to CBP's statement.
The CBP statement said the driver of the truck sustained a gunshot wound and was taken to a hospital in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico for treatment.
The driver has since been transported to a hospital in Southern Arizona for additional treatment. CBP says the driver is in critical condition. His identity has not been released by CBP.
Nogales Mayor Arturo Garino told the Arizona Daily Star that the shooting occurred after the driver refused to stop and tried to run over the CBP officer.
A woman who answered the phone at Garino’s office said the mayor was unavailable, and there was no more information about the shooting.
The shooting occurred in the border city where U.S. troops recently installed razor wire along portions of an 18-foot border wall, in some spots reaching nearly ground level.
The Nogales City Council condemned the wire and demanded that it be removed over safety concerns for children and pets.
Residents and shopkeepers complain that it makes the community look like a war zone.
This is an ongoing investigation. The CBP's Office of Professional Responsibility and Homeland Security Investigations are involved in the investigation.
"This incident remains an open investigation, no further details are expected to be immediately released," CBP said.
