Border Patrol agent kills boy after rocks were thrown

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A thrown rock can easily be lethal. He was acting in self defense just as he was trained to do. The only wrongdoing is on the part of the one who threw the rock.

He wasn't exactly being stoned. I have had things thrown at me on my home from school. You simply try to get away from them as soon as possible to avoid more trouble. Or murdering someone, as this happened.

The agent obviously felt threatened.

This report is two years old. Things have gotten worse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUlhYkJVu0Q

I hope the border agent is cleared of all charges.

I suppose my brother has been extremely lucky. He throws rocks sometimes. Just yesterday, he picked up a handful of rocks while we were waiting in a parking lot, and began to toss and throw them. If there's a cop or anyone with a gun around, does that mean he's in danger and will be shot? After all, he was throwing rocks! And he usually throws them towards the bushes in the backyard!! ! He used to throw them at school, and on the way to and from, too. I suppose he never realized that was deadly! Come to think of it, he has killed the blossoms and fruit on my grandparents' trees before, whenever we went there, and he threw rocks around their garden. I suppose he doesn't deserve to live, as he is committing a very HORRIBLE crime. I must make sure I call the cops, or the border patrol, and ask them to bring their guns next time.

Rocks are potentially deadly weapons. When propelled by sling they are as deadly as firearms, but at a more limited range. Throwing rocks at or toward people is not a joke or a form of play.

ruveyn

Lots of Border Patrol have been killed while trying to round up some freedom loving undocumented workers.

He was not in Mexico, he was in Juarez, and known for running illegals across. So he ran away when they were caught, and threw rocks so they could get away.

So he brought a rock to a gun fight, and came in second.

Mexican Culture has always prized things American, a while back it was cattle.

You mean illegal trespassers addled with god knows what communicable diseases.

ruveyn

Only if he's throwing large stones directly at someone in a place where attempted murder via rock throwing is apparently common.

Bullets for rocks?? I can't believe you really thought the things you say. Rocks a deadly weapon (so huge that you can't see them in the video)? You really believe it? And I don't know the distance (18 m or so), but I saw the video (http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2010/06/ ... -mexico-eu), no way the rocks could harm him (and I'm not sure if they really hit him). And if he felt so threatened why didn't he run away? It makes no sense.
So, please, see the video and stop that rocks-are-a-deadly-weapon nonsense.

Rocks, especially those that are thrown by sling are deadly weapons. The range is limited but with that range they can kill as readily as bullets (which are chemical propelled rocks).

ruveyn

You didn't see the video, did you? Did you see the distance? did you see the boys carrying a sling? Read all the comment before answering, please.

Do you speak spanish? if so translate. Also that video is lacking in quality its hard to make out what happened

I'm not going to comment on this specific incident because I don't have all the facts; I'm not comfortable with speculation. I've seen the video, but the quality isn't that good. Besides, I don't like relying on video shot from only one angle and/or only shows a portion of everything that happened to make a judgement, at least not without additional information.

Throwing rocks can definitely be considered using deadly force. The definition of deadly force is force that is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury.

I know of two incidents where a police officer was killed by being struck in the head by a thrown rock. They both happened in the US. I can't remember the exact details. I know one happened as an officer was escorting a prisoner. I could probably look them up if anyone's interested.

Also keep in mind that if a thrown rock renders an armed officer unconscious, the offender now has the opportunity to retrieve the officer's weapon and kill him/her.

Yes, I know the quality is really bad (the video is from a mobile phone) and it's true that the video only focus on the border patrol, so we don't know what are the boys doing most of the time, but it's true that they (we don't know if all of the boys or only some of them) were throwing stones because a woman in the video say so.
I'm not saying that throwing rocks to an armed agent was the smartest thing to do (actually, it was quite stupid) and I'm sure that bigger rocks in less distance could harm someone or even kill (not in this situation I think). But I'm sure the border patrol have other options: he could have fire a warning shot or aim to anywhere else than a kid's head. Isn't there a protocol for situations like this?
And I'm not sure what do you want me to translate: the audio of the video or the article? You could translate the article (I think it doesn't say anything new); and in the video the people watching it said "they're throwing stones" and "he hit him, the stupid, he hit him", the rest is a bit confusing.
And here's the video commented in english http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzFqhSkQ ... re=related

... but you can kill with stones even a small stone can put out your eye but a medium sized stone aimed at your throat can take you down. Its probably also isn't hard to knock someone out with a stone but i wouldn't know anything about that.