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Border & Immigration

Border Patrol Agent Fired Ten Times To Kill Woman On Meth

Border Patrol Agent Shot Chula Vista Woman 10 Times
Border Patrol Agent Shot Chula Vista Woman 10 Times

A newly released autopsy report shows a woman was struck multiple times in a recent fatal shooting by a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

The findings show that Border Patrol Agent Justin Tackett shot Chula Vista resident Valeria Alvarado, 32, at least ten times. The new autopsy report from the San Diego County Medical Examiner's office shows that the mother of five sustained multiple gunshot wounds to her upper body.

The report also shows Alvarado's blood tested positive for methamphetamine.

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The shooting happened in San Diego on Sept. 28. Alvarado reportedly left an apartment where Border Patrol agents were going to make an arrest, though she was not the subject of that arrest warrant. She then hit Tackett with her 1994 Honda Accord.

Tackett sprawled on the hood of the moving vehicle, and apparently fearing for his life, opened fire on Alvarado through the windshield, authorities said.

In the past two years, the Border Patrol has been involved in 18 fatal shootings along the border. The agency's use of lethal force has sparked federal attention, and is now being reviewed by the Department of Homeland Security.

An investigation into this case is ongoing.

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