Escalating border violence turned deadly Thursday night as Border Patrol agents shot a man who fired upon them. It was the first fatal shooting in the Border Patrol's Yuma sector in six years, according to the agency.The shooting occurred at 11:28 p.m. at County 18-1/2 Street and the Colorado River, an area where hundreds of illegal aliens have been robbed at gunpoint. A man believed to be an accomplice of the deceased man was arrested for allegedly being involved in these robberies.
"The last fatal shooting here was maybe six years ago, and nobody remembers the one before that," said Yuma sector Border Patrol spokesman Chris Van Wagenen. "It's very rare."
Border Patrol agents were patrolling in the area when they were confronted by an armed suspect who fired at least one round at them, according to the Sheriff's Office and Border Patrol. Agents returned fire, striking the man, who died at the scene.
The name of the deceased has not been released because next of kin have not been notified. The Mexican Consulate has been contacted for assistance.
After the shooting, Border Patrol apprehended Diego Armando Mendieta De La Torre, 20, of Mexicali who is a suspect in the robberies."It's our hope that we've at least caught two," Wilmot said. "We know there are more suspects involved. We've had reports of from one to five suspects, depending on the size of the group being robbed."
YCSO said De La Torre would be booked into Yuma County jail for a charge of participating in a criminal syndicate. Other charges may be sought later.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is conducting a federal investigation of the shooting, the Border Patrol's Critical Incident Team is doing an internal investigation and YCSO is conducting the criminal investigation. Wilmot said detectives were interviewing people Friday and working to find others involved in the armed robberies.
Since 2004, 195 people have been robbed in this same area of the border, Wilmot said. The numbers have skyrocketed from 25 in 2004 to 56 in 2005 to 114 already this year. And those numbers only include illegal aliens who were later apprehended by Border Patrol and reported the robberies — hundreds of others may have been robbed and never reported it.
Van Wagenen said the agents who fired on the man have been placed on administrative leave. He said he did not know how many agents were there or how many rounds had been fired.
While in the past it has been rare for shootings to occur, Van Wagenen admits that such an incident is not a surprise considering the increased violence on the border. The Border Patrol says it has seen a significant increase this fiscal year in assaults against agents and crimes against illegal aliens.
"We knew the violence was going to get worse as smugglers get frustrated. We knew it would get worse before it gets better," Van Wagenen said.
Wilmot said the body of the dead man will be sent to Tucson for autopsy. He said YCSO's investigation was expected to be lengthy.
The Border Patrol said it is fully cooperating with the YCSO and FBI on their investigations.