Immigrant fatally shot by Border Patrol agent in Texas, investigation ongoing

An immigrant from Mexico in U.S. Border Patrol custody was fatally shot on Tuesday in El Paso, Texas, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The shooting took place at around 12:45 p.m. when he was in the custody of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Ysleta Border Patrol Station in El Paso, the agency said in a statement.

The immigrant was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, reported the FBI.

The Mexican Consulate in El Paso confirmed that the immigrant was a Mexican citizen that was being processed at the station when criminal charges against him were discovered, causing an altercation.

According to two sources who were not authorized to discuss the investigation, the immigrant grabbed a pair of scissors from a counter during an altercation with officials, reported The Washington Post.

The source added that agents attempted to disable the man with a taser but were unsuccessful. The security camera in the room was not working at the time of the incident.

“Additional information will be shared when it becomes available,” CBP said in a statement. Officials have not disclosed what led up to the incident, further details of the immigrant, or the identities of the Border Patrol agents involved.

The incident was the second deadly shooting that took place along the U.S.-Mexico border in less than a week. An ex-detention center official and his brother shot the migrants, one of them fatally, in Hudspeth County, about 90 miles east of El Paso.

Since last October, there have been 17 similar shootings, compared to seven in 2019, according to CBP data. Since 2010, more than 230 people have died in incidents involving CBP agents.

The incident is under investigation.