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Shooting of Mexican boy by U.S. border agent ratchets up tensions

Hernandez juarez shooting death The shooting death of a Mexican teenager by a U.S. border agent has further heightened tensions in the region. It is the second death in two weeks of a Mexican national at the hands of U.S. authorities, Tracy Wilkinson and Richard Serrano report in The Times.

The FBI is now investigating the Monday incident, in which 15-year-old Sergio Hernandez Guereca died after being shot in the face by a U.S. border agent on bike patrol duty along the Rio Grande between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez. Hernandez's body was found on the Mexican side of the border, under a freight bridge connecting the two countries.

Andrea Simmons, an FBI special agent in El Paso, said the border agent who discharged his weapon was being pelted with rocks by suspected illegal immigrants who had crossed back into Mexico after two others were detained. The name of the agent who fired his weapon has not been released.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon once more chose strong language to protest the action by U.S. border agents. In a statement, he implored the U.S. government to "punish those responsible" for the boy's death.

In the other border-agent-related death angering Mexicans, L.A. Now reports on a video that has emerged of the incident that left Anastasio Hernandez Rojas dead on May 29 at the border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana.

Hernandez, 42, was being deported to Tijuana when he became combative and was Tasered.

In the mostly dark video, first published by the Tijuana newspaper Frontera, Hernandez is not seen but is heard shouting, "No, Nooooo! Help me! Stop, please!" While his wailing continues, a woman is heard telling agents to stop. The man who is shooting the video then approaches an agent, who is standing away from the scuffle and asks why the authorities are using "excessive force" against Hernandez.

Commentators, politicians and high-ranking government officials in Mexico are condemning the two deaths. One columnist characterized the shooting death of 15-year-old Sergio Hernandez as "gringo bullets that cross the border to kill a Mexican on his own land." The union representing the Border Patrol notes that agents have come under attack repeatedly in the course of their work and that rocks can cause serious injury.

The National Conference of Governors in Mexico announced that due to the recent border deaths and  Arizona's tough new anti-illegal immigrant law, its members would not attend a bi-national conference of border governors scheduled for September in Arizona. "I don't buy the rocks argument," said Rosario Green, a senator in Mexico, according to the official news agency Notimex. "It's an excessive use of force to be shooting Mexicans who are on our side."

On Twitter, users directed angry expressions at the U.S. border patrol over the deaths. Others repeated the FBI's assertion that Mexican authorities pointed weapons at U.S. agents during the tense confrontation that left the young Hernandez dead.

Television personality Drew Carey tweeted: "I agree that the Border Patrol has a tough job, but shooting rock-throwers should be a no-go. Find a non-lethal way to handle it."

Another Twitter user wrote: "War with Mexico?"

-- Daniel Hernandez, in Mexico City

Photo: An image showing Sergio Hernandez Guereca, provided by his family. Credit: Associated Press via El Pais


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Leonel gutierrez
Shooting of Mexican boy by U.S. border agent ratchets up tensions | La Plaza | Los Angeles Times


MEXICO????????? has been corrupt so long, the people have given up on it, if you took the brightest minds of Mexican descent right here in America, like LA RAZA and its board of directors, LULAC and MALDEF, if you took HOMEBOY Industries, Mayor V, Loretta Sanchez, if you thru in a couple of union representatives, and Lee Baca, If you took Card. Garcia, and a few pastors that advocate amnesty in America, plus a few of the lobbyist that hit Washington demanding Americans accept their agenda, and drop them right in the heart of Mexico. Mexico might be a better place.

But they make all this noise on American soil for Mexican people, while not saying a thing about the plight of Mexicans in Mexico, where the people are treated a heck of a lot worse.

wow i can not believe that there is a lot of racism going on here....i dont know where are people coming up with the story with the kid being a smuggler.You should probably say that obama is former crip gangster from who knows where..but the SHOULD HAVE NOT BEEN SHOT IN THE HEAD!!!!!!plain and simple..PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!you guys are coming with some political stuff that dont make sense..


RETRACTION: My first comment posted was in response to "IX CHEL" and not "DeborahNoriega.

@DeborahNoriega - Your entire post is completely wrong and misleading. If you have eyes, you can plainly see that EVERYTHING you posted is incorrect according to the video. The kid was NOT 6 meters into Mexico. He was in the wash at the time of the shooting. He was in plain sight....not hiding behind anything. He was shot in face which means he was FACING the agent (throwing rocks). Your assertion that the US govt is lieing and hiding facts is ridiculous at best. If you know anything at all about law in the US (doubtful) you would know they can not show any evidence or make any statements regarding an ongoing investigation and/or litigation. The "autopsy" was done in Mexico. How can you say the shooting was done at close range when you say you saw the video. Not to mention the fact that if it were done at close range, that would give more merit to the Agent's decision to shoot the kid. A rock CAN BE a deadly weapon. If you don't think so, I will gladly stand in front of you and throw a rock as hard as I can at your head and see if you even remember your name! Lastly, the kids (smugglers) DID IN FACT make it into the US. If you say you saw the video...the door they came out of and ran from....leads to the US. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stop posting such idiotic remarks on something you know nothing about. Thank you and enjoy your safe night of sleep at the expense of a Border Patrol Agent who put his life on the line so you could do so.

Lethal force is lethal force and should be responded to in kind.

Isn't it amazing how americans demonized anyone and everyone to justify their human rights violations?
So arrogant that I recall at the beggining of the Iraq war (invation based on lies, by the way) were so upset and considered it an offense that some Iraq people were defending themselves from an aggresive invation on their homeland. You have created an underground work force and you hold the power in your hands since you control the money. You fail to judge the real culprit, YOU!! If illegal aliens are hineous criminals , so are the people that hire them for you are breaking your own laws!
I can understand why, today I drove by a construction site here in Texas, the weather is close to 100deg, but it feels like 120 with the intense humidity and all I saw was mexicans with soaking wet shirts digging holes for foundations. I did not se a single "white" person or a single black man. No, it was all your "almost" slave workers soing all your dirty jobs for you and yet, you treat them worse than a dog with mange. Of course, you are doing them a favor by letting them do your dirty jobs, right???

It is interesting how many of your commentators feel it is justified to kill a kid that throws rocks at border patrol because, the assumption is, he has to be a drug smuggler. Let's just say he is. The irony is that caucasian people use more marijuana than anyone else (and I'm pretty sure that applies to other drugs as well). Further, are places such as Arizona really "filled with crime". Come on don't believe everything you hear. Crime rate has decreased throughout the US, including Arizona. Look up the info before you make such assumptions.

For those repeating the assertion made by the Border Patrol..which btw, they have not provided proof of...and I don´t believe them...

His parents have provided proof he was a full time honor roll student by releasing his school records to Mexican reporters. The border patrol did not even come close to spelling his maternal last name something smells in Denmark..if they had indeed arrested him that many times they would have his names right at least...also claiming he had a long record doesn´t work for his age...I somehow doubt that he was smuggling people or drugs when he was 11 years old. I think they may have someone with a similar name..but ask yourself..why don´t they show this list?

Also, he was shot and was SIX METERS inside Mexico so he could not have thrown a rock hard enough to even be a direct danger and he wasn´t throwing rocks according to eye witness and video accountings of the situation.

The autopsy showed he was shot at close range which leads credence to the fact that the BP agent had entered Mexico when he was shooting. There was no reason to shoot this kid and there was no reason to smear his name and his family name without providing proof to back up the accusations. The kid never entered the US so he wasn´t illegally in US territory.

The people asking what he was doing there obviously don´t live close to the border...he lives there, that is why he was there. The kid literally lives right at the that is what he was doing there. I grew up in Texas and lived in an area that I could walk out my front door and walk across the street and be in Mexico. Does that make it a little more clear for you as to why he was there?

People lets not forget we are also immigrants the real owners of this land are the native americans and they are not shooting us with weapons...are they???

and the reason Mexican's disrespect US border and majority (other than hispanic ethnicity) Americans is....?

Granted, this is a tragedy. But Mexico should be crying fowl over the rash of killings at the hands of their own nationals. Hundreds of thier own women and children are being killed every day because Mexico cannot control their own problems. The President of Mexico should send the same stern message to drug cartels in his own backyard.

The Mexican government is complicite in the illegal entry of its citizens into the US. Mexican politicians, high-ranking Mexican government officials and Mexican commentators should be encouraging Mexicans to respect the laws of the US and there would not be incidents like this.

Don't throw rocks at LEO's. People are killed by stoning in the middle east all the time ie Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan under the Taliban. Same as poinitng a toy gun made to look like a real weapon. Deadly force is authorized.

I wonder if Germany, England or Sweden were the countries of the border would pass this kind of things....

Attention! border patrol kills 15-year white boy from Sweden in its territory!
I Don´t think so.....

As sad as this sounds the agent was protecting himself. Seems to me Mr. Calderon would do more to protect the border and less to reallocate funds to his own pocket ala graft.

Regretably this type of increased force is all that is understood. I think all US Agents should be allowed equal force to combat offensitve behavior by crooks like this.

Duped Tax Payer, the Mexicans are interested in giving you what you want. They'd like to scrap the free trade agreement and find other trade partners and other travel destinations.

Dennis Nowicki, well, he certainly got the agent's attention. Since no one shot the latter in the back, I assume another drug smuggler was able to "sneek" across the border. It seems to me, though, that this strategy could be improved upon. Why not arm the boy with a firearm rather than a pebble? It would considerably diminish the risk to him and quickly make the focus of the agent's attention a moot point.

People absolutely crack me up when they say "Get shot just for throwing rocks?". Then I have a propostion: You get a gun and I get a rock. I go first. I'll tell you right won't get to shoot me because your head will be split in half. When did we lose our common sense gene as human beings? Here's another little tidbit: The mexican police were seen (on video) picking up the casings from the agents gun and placing them near the body of the kid. Yeah.....real upstanding and honest people! Thank you agent for putting you life on the line so we could sleep last night.

The teenage perp in this unfortunate tragedy was probably throwing stones for one of two reasons. Either to distract the Border Patrol agent so that another perp could sneek up behind him and shoot him in the back, or distract the agent so that another drug smuggler could sneek across the border. The Border Patrol agent was within his rights to use lethal force in this instance.

No one is asking why the parents of the teen allowed him to cross the border or be a smuggler. They must know that the border is a dangerous place. What about their responsibility? Stoning kills people. That is why it was a punishment in the Bible. Google killed by stone or injured by stone and you will see that stones are lethal weapons. This is a case where good fences would make good neighbors.

This illegal mexican boy is a professional smuggler. He has been arrested 5 times. The US Border Patrol acted correctly, he protected himself and our country from illegal mexican smugglers.

You throw rocks at me, I shoot you. Seriously?

I agree with Carey, find a non-lethal and responsible way to deal with it. This is just plain wrong.

A rock that is thrown at anyone is an asault with a deadly weapon. I think that many rock throwers would make an asault even more deadlier. A peace officer explained to me that an asault with a stone is like a bullet. Those coming across the international line need to have respect for the US Border Patrol agents and authorities. The illegal immigrants are checking the box of an employment application where it asked them if they have the legal right to work in the United States of America, place mark here.

I love the distortion in the American media on the rock-thrower story. Spanish news last night made an excellent point that had Mexican officials come on to American soil to shoot an American national, the U.S. would have invaded Mexico in a heartbeat. Calderon, of course, is off to South Africa, for soccer, and the ghost of apartheid. Furthermore, the plight of the immigrant, especially in the context of excessive force to rock-throwing youth echoes the situation in Palestine. Whom do these borders protect? Whom do they exclude? The immigrant will go militant like the Palestinian to secure their right to life and resources. Repression mandates a populist expression.

The death of this youth is a tragedy but the Times is very quick to condemn the Border Patrol Agent. Seems like this and the other article I've read are very one sided and it isn't the American side.

Attacking a law enforcement officer during an arrest is a serious confrontation with consequences. Let's hear from the Border Patrol after their investigation, was it within policy or not?

I will not condemn these people for doing their job until I hear the facts. There are certainly situations where lethal force is justified.

Those of you who feel the kid should have been sent to bed without dessert, and the agent hung out to dry, based on his mother's statements to the press are quicker on the trigger than the BP agent.

If the Rep. Duncan Hunters original--Two Fences--construction had been completed, this shooting of a Mexican boy would never have occurred. The blame of this incident is at the feet of US Government for permitting the dismantling of the--Second Fence--and failing to finish the first fence? This is not the fault of the US Border Patrol as they are undermanned and do not have the backing of Federal troops. Even in Mexico they have Federal troops in the region of the international border. The 2006 Secure border fence was severely underfunded in closed door sessions in Washington. The 2006 Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations bill that gutted the 2006 Secure Fence Act, would have been constructed for the first 854 miles of the U.S-Mexico border.

An amendment submitted by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-TX, and co-sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn, (R-TX), for the Department of Homeland Security 2008 budget was aimed at gutting the already-approved H.R. 6061 Secure Fence Act. Sen. Hutchison in the summer 2006 had drafted S.Amdt. 2466 to H.R. 2368 (the DHS appropriations bill). “The Hutchison amendment gave DHS virtually total discretion over how and where the fence is built,” Open border activists have used their powerful influence on politicians, but the main blame must go to Sen. Hutchison, R-TX, and by Sen. Cornyn, (R-TX). The boys who were throwing rocks, would have been contained either on the Mexican side of 15 foot barrier or between the second border fence. Having to scale either fence with razor wire would have been a deterrent. If the second fence had not been trashed, it would have been similar that encloses a prison compound, constructed as a chain link fence.

The death of the youngster would have not have happened. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader was also involved in downgrading the construction of the--TWO FENCES--and will be propelled out of office in November by Sharron Angle. All the information and real facts about the illegal immigrant invasion, costs can be acquired at NUMBERSUSA website. More information about the unreleased corruption in Washington and all States can be gleaned at Judicial Watch

Turns out this kid may be a known smuggler. So you play you pay. I want all the facts to come out but I think, par usual, the Mexicans are brimming with hysteria, not to mention a tinge of racism with the disparaging “Gringo” comments.

What we need now is a Mexican boycott of US. Don't come.

While a tragedy, what was this boy and his family doing there? Unless they were planning to enter the U.S. illegally, why were they there? Did these parents not know that they were at the border crossing where Mexicans regularly illegally enter the U.S.? Did they not know there was Border Enforcement there? Did they not see the others throwing rocks at the U.S. agents? Or were they hoping for the rock throwing mob to overrun the Border Agent, and slip into the U.S. while he was being pummeled? Why did his parents not take any action to remove him from an antagonistic and dangerous situation? You can comment that people who question the family's claim are heartless, but that does not negate the fact that this boy was in a very dangerous area, supposedly on the Mexico side, while the Mexican authorities did nothing to contain the situation on their side of the border. Had they stepped in, and dispersed the antagonists, perhaps the young boy would be alive now. But everything is always te fault of the U.S., and the Mexicans are always the victims. Thanks to our current administration, we're getting really good at accepting blame.

All I've heard lately is how Calderon doesn't agree with our policies, our enforecement. Why is NO ONE asking for accountability from Caderon?? He is doing nothing, but throwing out blame everywhere. It's high time he takes action to help his country quit playing the victim, and start using his resources to train his youth, create jobs, and make his people WANT to be there. Yes, drugs and the cartel and crime and corrupt government are all there, but what the hell is he doing to comabt this? he's spending ALL of his time in OUR business. Go mind your own Calderon.

Deaths a tragedy
The two recent deaths at the border are tragedies that could have been prevented. And the blame lays clearly at the feet of the U.S. and Mexican governments. Neither side is doing enough to stop the flow of people, drugs or guns across OUR border. Both sides are to blame.

And what, exactly, would Drew Carey know about defending yourself while being pelted with rocks? And why should being a "television personality" qualify him to even be quoted? Perhaps his combat experience while serving in the police or military qualifies him to address the subject? Or maybe not ......

shoot rubber bullets with every 10th bullet being lead

I'm not sure what exactly happened here, but Mr. Hernandez was under the influence of crystal methamphetamine at the time. The Times because of it's open border agenda continually leaves this fact out of it's reporting.

It is unacceptable in both cases. Mr. Anastasio Rojas was resident for 20 years in the States and was killed by border agents with barbaric sadism . In the case of the child (a very good student) , he was shot on his head, even if he was was not in american soil . Why? Why you hate this people so much? What have they done? Most disgusting is also the comments of readers without respect and joking about these 2 persons, they said they were aliens or dealers. This is not the kind of response from a civilized country, the agents are acting like primitive irrationals. I hope this agents will be send to extradition so they become punishment. Rest in peace to Mr. Anastasio and Sergio and all those people killed by u.s. weapons. God Bless Mexico.

THEY SHOULD NOT BE COMING HERE ILLEGALY!!!!!!!!! Can't really be said plainer than that. And lets not forget the ranchers in NM that have lost their lives to illegals smuggling drugs, let's not forget the thousands of murders and rapes that happen by ILLEGALS ON US SOIL...not a word is said by the bleeding hearts about that. If a gang of Americans were pelting a policeman or federal agent the same thing would have happened. Shame on Mexico for endorsing border jumping, and shame on America for letting it happen for too long!

You ever been hit in the head with a rock before? Perfectly justified response by the Border Patrol officer.

The brat brought rocks to a gun fight with police. One less smuggler and breeder.


Actually the Mexican authorities did not show up until AFTER the Border Patrol agents had shot and killed the unarmed teenage rock thrower and at that point what did the Border Patrol think the Mexicans should have done? Applaud?

Here is anew joke. Did you hear the one about the Mexican guy who just
wanted to work hard, teach his children to respect education, learns english.pays for everything he takes and truly wants to become an American?



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