One person was shot and is in a critical condition in a shooting involving Border Patrol agents near the US- Mexico border, authorities in Arizona said on Tuesday.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said it was working with the FBI and US Customs and Border Protection in response to the shooting in Arivaca, a community about 16 kilometres from the border.
US Customs and Border Protection and the FBI did not immediately respond to emails and telephone calls seeking more information.
The Santa Rita Fire District said it responded to the shooting and the person who was wounded was in custody.
“Patient care was transferred to a local medical helicopter for rapid transport to a regional trauma centre,” the fire district said.
The incident comes after angry protests erupted in Minneapolis after the fatal shooting by immigration agents of 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti on Saturday.
The death of Pretti was the second fatal shooting of a US citizen by immigration officers in Minneapolis in less than three weeks.
US President Donald Trump said on Monday his administration is “reviewing everything” following the shooting.
Parents decry ‘sickening lies’
Video verified by US media showed agents shooting Pretti seconds after spraying him with a chemical irritant and throwing him to the icy ground.
The footage shows Pretti never drew a weapon, contradicting administration officials who described him as an “assassin” who had assaulted federal agents and was found with a pistol.
Pretti’s parents condemned what they called “sickening lies” about their son in a statement issued Saturday.
The shootings occurred during “Operation Metro Surge,” which has deployed thousands of federal immigration agents to the heavily Democratic city for weeks.
Trump has blamed the deaths on Minnesota’s Democratic leadership, including Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, calling the situation “Democrat ensued chaos.”
This is a developing story and our journalists are working on further updates.
Additional sources • AP
