Video of shooting contradicts Border Patrol's claims

Published 14 June 2010

The Border Patrol agent who shot and killed a 15-year old Mexican boy last Monday said he was “surrounded” by rock-throwing Mexican youth; a video of the incident shows no such thing: the agent is seen without anyone near him except one Mexican boy he, the agent, had detained; the boy is on his knees near the agent; the agent is seen drawing his gun and firing in the direction of a second suspect, standing about 60 feet away from the officer — on the Mexican side of the border; the video shows the suspect running away when the agent drew and fired his gun

Mexican federal police and forensic experts with body under the Paso del Norte border bridge // Source: tbo.com

The killing last Monday of a 15-year old Mexican, Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca, by a U.S. Border Patrol agent, has increased tensions between the United States and Mexico, tensions which are only going to intensify as a news video emerges which contradicts the version of events provided by the Border Patrol.

The Border Patrol agent who shot the boy claimed he was surrounded by angry Mexican youngsters on the border at Ciudad Juarez who were throwing rocks at him and that he feared for his life. A video obtained by CNN casts doubt on these claims.

CNN obtained the video, which was shot by a witness on a cell phone camera from the Mexican side of the border, from affiliate Univision. The video aired on Univision’s program Primer Impacto last week.

The video shows part of the buildup before the incident, with several individuals running underneath the Puente Negro, a railroad span that connects the two countries.

Monday night’s incident started around 6:30 p.m. when Border Patrol agents responded to a report of a group of suspected illegal immigrants being smuggled into the United States near the Paso del Norte port of entry, FBI Special Agent Andrea Simmons said.

In the distance, a U.S. Border Patrol officer on a bicycle can be seen making his way toward the area. Seconds later, the officer can be seen getting off the bicycle and approaching two of the four suspected Mexican nationals who had just crossed through an opening in the fence. One of the suspects is detained by the officer, but never handcuffed, and is dragged a short distance. This happened on the U.S. side of the border.

 

Moments later, the officer points what appears to be his firearm in the direction of a second suspect, standing about 60 feet away from the officer — on the Mexican side of the border. The video shows the suspect running away.

Seconds later, two gunshots can be heard on the video. A third gunshot is heard in a different sequence of the tape. After the shooting, another suspect is seen running in the upper left side of screen away from the incident.

 

“They’re throwing rocks,” witnesses screaming in Spanish can be heard in the background of the video as the officer opens fire. “They hit him … they hit him.”

CNN reports that the video contradicts Simmons’ account. She had said: “This agent, who had the second subject detained on