FBI Opens Civil Rights Probe Into Border Shooting

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN Associated Press Writer

EL PASO, Texas (AP) – A federal official tells The Associated Press that the FBI has opened a civil rights probe as part of the investigation into the shooting of a 15-year-old Mexican boy by a U.S. Border Patrol agent at the international boundary with Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

The FBI formally added the civil rights portion to its broader investigation into the alleged assault on the Border Patrol agent, said the official, who was familiar with investigation, but was not authorized to speak on the subject.

On Monday, a still-unidentified Border Patrol agent trying to arrest illegal immigrants running into the United States fired his weapon from the U.S. side into Mexico, killing 15-year-old Sergio Adrian Hernandez Huereka. People on the Mexican side were throwing rocks at the arresting agents, but it’s unclear whether Hernandez was throwing rocks.

The shooting outraged Mexico, which was also angry at Arizona’s tough new immigration law.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)