Border Patrol union defends shooting that killed Mexican teen

By Ed O'Keefe



(Video courtesy of Univision. Warning: The video contains graphic images and language.)

The union representing U.S. Border Patrol agents is defending the actions of a colleague who shot and killed a Mexican teenager on Monday -- the second killing of a Mexican by U.S. agents in two weeks.

The National Border Patrol Council said the still-unidentified agent acted appropriately after Sergio Adrian Hernandez Huereka, 15, started throwing rocks in his direction.

"Since biblical times, rocks have been used as a crude but effective weapon to injure and kill humans," the union said. "On June 8, 2010, when Border Patrol Agents were assaulted at the U.S./Mexico border by several individuals armed with rocks, they were forced to defend themselves and their fellow agents. Border Patrol Agents are not trained, nor paid to withstand violent assaults without the ability to defend themselves. Rocks are weapons and constitute deadly force."

The union also stated, "While the loss of this teenager’s life is regrettable, it is due solely to his decision to pick up a rock and assault a United States Border Patrol Agent. We stand behind the actions of the agents who did their duty in El Paso, and are confident that the investigation into his incident will justify their actions."

Hernandez Huereka was buried Thursday in Ciudad Juarez.

Speaking Thursday at the announcement of a crackdown on Mexican drug cartels, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Thursday called the shooting "extremely regrettable."

Mexican officials condemned the shooting and phoned Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to issue a formal protest. Some officials want the agent extradited south of the border to face charges. Reaction to the shooting intensified Thursday night when Univision aired exclusive cell phone video of the shooting (see above).

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