One man is dead after a struggle with a border patrol agent just after midnight this morning in North County. It all began late last night when undercover border patrol agents began following a 1991 Ford Aerostar van in El Cajon. They suspected the van was a so-called "load" vehicle -- a term the border patrol uses to describe a vehicle suspected of carrying a load of illegal immigrants.
The trail ended here, at a Park and Ride at Deer Springs Road and interstate 15.
A county sheriff spokesman says the undercover border patrol agents found 11 people and one driver in the van, all suspected of being illegal aliens. They were arrested and taken to a detention center.
Meanwhile, one border patrol officer stayed behind to wait for a tow truck. That's when another man drove into the Park and Ride and asked the agent about the van.
The sheriff's office says there was a confrontation, then a chase to a field across the road, and finally a struggle.
Sgt. Roy Frank, San Diego County Sheriff : During that time the suspect attempted to take the agents gun and there was a fight for the gun, the agent was able to pull it away from the suspect and he shot the suspect.
The sheriff's office says undercover border agents routinely patrol the county in unmarked cars looking for suspicious-looking vehicles that may be carrying illegal aliens.
It’s also common for second vehicles to be involved in smuggling operations, often arranging to meet the vehicle loaded with people at a specific location. That's what the man who was shot was believed to have been doing.
Frank : There's a possibility he was connected to that group and was meeting that group. We have not confirmed that in this point and time.
Homicide officers from the sheriffs office are investigating the shooting.
The name of the man who was shot and killed has not been released. Late this afternoon, the sheriff's office confirmed the man was an undocumented immigrant.
The van was a fairly common family van. When you look up the specs in 91 though, it was available as a cargo or passenger van.
Agents regularly patrol for load vehicles. And they have experience in knowing what to look for. These agents also took the unusual step of following the van unnoticed, rather than engaging in a high speed chase.
We don't have a lot of information about the 12 people who were in the van. All were taken to a Border Patrol Detention Facility. The eleven passengers were all undocumented. Information about the driver's immigration status was not available this afternoon.
According to the border patrol, there were actually 30 percent fewer undocumented immigrants arrested in March compared to last March.
