A man shot Wednesday morning by a Border Patrol agent at a Rio Rico gas station is being investigated by the FBI on suspicion of assaulting a federal officer, according to Santa Cruz County officials.
Fernando Ramos Cholio, 30, whose residence and nationality had not yet been determined, was shot three times shortly after 4 a.m. when he became argumentative and threatened a group of agents with rocks, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada said.
The man was flown to a Tucson hospital, where he was reported in stable condition Wednesday with a wound in his arm and a grazing wound in his torso, Estrada said.
The shooting occurred at the Pilot gas station and fast-food store just south of Rio Rico, off Interstate 19. Three Border Patrol agents who were working at a checkpoint in the county were at the gas station on a break to get coffee when they saw Ramos Cholio, who they suspected was an illegal border crosser, near a gas pump, Estrada said.
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When they approached Ramos Cholio to ask him questions to determine his immigration status, he refused to answer and became combative, Estrada said, adding that at one point, he pointed his finger at them and threatened to kill them.
The agents, including one supervisor, called for assistance from a Santa Cruz sheriff's deputy, who arrived within minutes, Estrada said.
The deputy met with the people involved for a few minutes and was walking back to his vehicle when he heard shots fired, Estrada said.
The shooting occurred when the man reportedly picked up a rock and launched it at the agents, Estrada said, adding that it was not clear why the deputy was walking back to his car.
The Border Patrol agent who fired the shots has been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard agency protocol, said Gustavo Soto, Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokesman.
The agent, whose name was not released, was not injured, Soto said. The other agents at the scene did not shoot and remain on the job, he said.
During the course of their work, agents have the authority to question people whom they suspect could be illegal border entrants, Soto said. He didn't know what tipped agents off about the man on Wednesday morning, but he said agents often are alerted when people avoid eye contact, attempt to hide or try to avoid drawing attention to themselves.
Sometimes, agents' interviews reveal that people are here legally, he said.
"Some people do complain, but they know it's part of our job," Soto said.
Santa Cruz sheriff's deputies were at the Tucson hospital Wednesday interviewing Ramos Cholio, Estrada said.
The Mexican Consulate in Tucson was notified, and it was assisting in the effort to determine Ramos Cholio's nationality, Estrada said.
"We have lot of reason to suspect he was here illegally, but we have to confirm that," Estrada said.
This is the Border Patrol's second agent-related shooting this year. On Jan. 12, about 150 yards north of the border between Bisbee and Douglas, an agent shot and killed a 22-year-old Mexican illegal border crosser who had been apprehended along with six others and reportedly got into a scuffle with the agent.
The Cochise County Sheriff's Office is handling the investigation, and it has yet to release any more information.
Border Patrol agents in the Tucson Sector have been assaulted 63 times through the first four months of fiscal year 2007, 40 of which involved rocks thrown, Soto said.
