UPDATE: Armed subject killed by Border Patrol was shot by BORTAC agents
The incident happened near County 23rd St. and the Salinity Canal
SAN LUIS, Ariz. (KECY, KYMA) - Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed to KYMA that Border Patrol agents assigned to the Yuma Sector killed an armed subject in San Luis.
The death happened Sunday evening just after 7 p.m.
CBP says it was near County 23rd street at the Salinity Canal, just west of San Luis.
A CBP statement to KYMA says the armed subject was killed in what they describe as a “use of force incident”.
Chief of the San Luis Police Department Richard Jessup told KYMA the "use of force" was a shooting by federal BORTAC agents.
According to Jessup the shooting happened on U.S. soil, but on the other side of the wall.
As the border wall in the area is built inside the U.S. - Mexico border.
“With the assistance of Border Patrol we requested our criminal investigation division to go out there to assist them. We have jurisdiction within the city limits of San Luis," Jessup said.
But a gate can be opened for agents to access the other side of the wall and the canal.
It is a popular spot for migrants to illegally cross into the U.S., as Mexico is on the other side of the Colorado River, and migrants can walk up to the wall to make an asylum claim to border patrol agents.
CBP adds other local law enforcement departments responded to the scene.
UPDATE: A representative for Yuma County Sheriff's Office says their medical examiner was on the scene, not sheriff’s deputies, and could not release the examiner’s findings as they’re not the lead investigators on the case.
The full statement provided to KYMA Monday night is below.
On October 30, 2022, at approximately 7:10 p.m., U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Yuma Border Patrol Sector, were involved in a use of force incident which resulted in the death of an armed subject near the County Road 23 Bridge near the Salinity canal. Investigative personnel including the San Luis Police Department, the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility responded to the scene. Additional information will be shared as it becomes available.
-Customs and Border Protection
