Family Of Mexican Teen Fatally Shot By Border Patrol Set To File Lawsuit
Attorneys for the family of 15-year old Sergio Adrian Hernandez Gereca will officially file a lawsuit against the United States government and several other entities, including the United States Bureau of Customs and Border Protection on Monday, Jan. 17, 2011.
Gereca, who was allegedly throwing rocks toward Border Patrol agents, was standing on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border when U.S. Border Patrol Agents opened fire on Gereca and a group of teenagers on June 7, 2010. Gereca was shot twice, once fatally in the head. His body was left lying under the Paseo del Norte Bridge in the Territory of Mexico.
Authorities have not released the name of the Border Patrol agent involved in the shooting.
See the U.S. Attorney General comment on cell phone video of the incident and view a slideshow of the incident here.
?The agent raised his firearm, intentionally and methodically took aim at an unarmed 15-year old boy standing on Mexican soil and then pulled the trigger. Twice. The second bullet hit Sergio between the eyes killing him,? attorney Bob Hilliard said in a news release. ?Sergio was standing still at the time of the shooting. He didn?t have a weapon.?
Hilliard and Houston-based attorney Cristbal Galindo are representing Gereca?s parents, Maria Guadalupe Gereca Betancour and Jesus Hernandez in the lawsuit.
?When did we start allowing Border Patrol Agents to shoot across the border and kill an unarmed teenager?? Galindo said. ?Sergio was like many young teens in Mexico. He loved to play soccer and wanted to one day become a soldier or police officer. The family deserves answers as to why the boy had his life cut short by a U.S. law enforcement official. ?
