A Yuma Border Patrol agent fired a shot at a group of illegal aliens near the Colorado River Friday morning after being struck in the face by a rock thrown by one of the aliens.The agent said that he did not think any of the rock throwers were hit by the bullet, according to Michael Gramley, spokesman for the U.S. Border Patrol's Yuma sector. Gramley said the agent, who was treated and released from an urgent treatment center, PrimeCare Central in Yuma, could not comment on the incident. He suffered an abrasion beneath his right eye, Gramley said.
The rock throwing and shooting occurred after six agents encountered 35 illegal aliens at the salinity canal near County 22nd Street, Gramley said. The agents were able to apprehend 27 of those 35 aliens, but the remaining eight fled across the dry Colorado River bed and back toward Mexico, Gramley said.
As the agents were detaining the 27, nine persons emerged from the riverbed and began throwing rocks at the six agents, striking one agent in the face with one of the rocks. Some of the aliens who previously fled were among the rock throwers, Gramley said. He said the Yuma sector's critical incident team and the FBI are both investigating the incident.
The incident marked the third time this month in the Yuma sector that a Border Patrol pursuit of illegal aliens ended in an assault against an agent. "The assault this morning shows that these smuggling organizations are frustrated with the success of our increased enforcement efforts," said Ron Colburn, chief patrol agent for the Yuma, in a statement Friday.
"We are very fortunate that our agent was not more seriously injured," he said, adding that a rock can be used as a "dangerous, even deadly weapon."