- Josh Morgan
- From right to left: José Antonio’s mother, Araceli Rodriguez; his grandmother, Taide Elena; and Selma Barrón, the mother of Ramses Barrón, another Nogales youth killed under similar circumstances by Border Patrol in early 2011. The three women were standing in front of the clinic on Saturday near the U.S./Mexico border where Elena Rodriguez was killed after a U.S. Border Patrol agent opened fire on a group of people allegedly throwing rocks in Nogales, Sonora. “They’ve taken a piece of my heart. It’s where they buried him,” said Rodriguez. “No one is going to return my son to me. No one can give me back the hugs I gave him, the kisses, his voice or his smile.
Chanting demands for justice and a thorough investigation, roughly 30 friends, relatives and supporters of the slain 16-year-old Nogales, Sonora, resident José Antonio Elena Rodriguez marched to the Sonoran side of the downtown port-of-entry Saturday morning.
José Antonio was killed the evening of Oct. 10 in a Border Patrol shooting that is still under investigation on both sides of the border.
The march ended a few blocks west, at the site of José Antonio’s death, near the corner of Internacional and Ingenieros. Standing just feet away from that corner, anger comes easily to Araceli Rodriguez, the young man’s mother.
“They’ve taken a piece of my heart. It’s where they buried him,” she said. “No one is going to return my son to me. No one can give me back the hugs I gave him, the kisses, his voice or his smile.”
- Josh Morgan
- From left to right: Taide Elena, Araceli Rodriguez, Selma Barrón and Andrea Paula Elena Rodriguez, Jose Antonio’s younger sister, protest in front of the U.S./Mexico port of entry Saturday morning. About 30 family members, friends and supporters of Jose Antonio attended the protest, which started at Plaza de Hildalgo and continued to the port of entry and then to the site where Elena Rordriguez was shot.
Joining marchers were friends and family of Ramses Barrón Torres, another Nogales youth killed under similar circumstances by Border Patrol in early 2011. The march itself was organized by both of the families.
Taide Elena, José Antonio’s grandmother, said that the two families coming together for the march is an important development.
“Unity makes strength,” she said. “That’s why we’re coming together.”
Very little is known for certain about the circumstances of Jose Antonio’s shooting. According to the U.S. Border Patrol, the agents involved responded to a report of suspected smuggling around 11:30 the evening of Oct. 10. Shortly after arriving, Border Patrol officials claim that its agents started being assaulted by rocks from the other side. After issuing repeated commands to stop throwing rocks, one agent opened fire into Mexico at the rock-throwers.
A police report filed by two Nogales Police Department officers on the scene that evening corroborate some but not all of BP’s statements. Both Officer John Zuniga and Officer Quinardo Garcia report hearing and seeing rocks being thrown, but neither reports having heard Border Patrol agents warn subjects on the other side, or ordering them to stop throwing rocks.
José Antonio’s death was the latest in a string of fatal Border Patrol shootings and the fifth in just the last three months. According to the Southern Border Communities Coalition, there have been 19 fatal Border Patrol shootings since 2010, many of which involved alleged rock-throwing.
The shooting also comes on the heels of an announcement by the Office of the Inspector General that it will look into the use of force policies of the Border Patrol and instances of reported brutality. That decision was spurred by a letter from 16 members of the U.S. Congress expressing concern about the 2010 death of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas while in Border Patrol custody, the brutal circumstances of which were documented in the PBS report Crossing the Line at the Border last April.
- Josh Morgan
- Taide Elena, grandmother of Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, holds a portrait of Jose Antonio in front of the U.S./Mexico port of entry in Nogales, Sonora. The Elena Rodriguez and Barrón families organized Saturday’s protest. “Unity makes strength,” said Elena. “That’s why we’re coming together.”
As investigations into his death proceed, José Antonio’s family continues to mourn and put pressure on both the U.S. and Mexican governments.
“We’re marching so that justice is done,” Ms. Rodriguez said, “so that my son’s case isn’t forgotten.”
- Josh Morgan
- Particpants of the protest marched from Plaza de Hildalgo to the port of entry and then to the site where Elena Rordriguez was killed, chanting, “We want justice for Jose Antonio.”
Story by Murphy Woodhouse; photos by Josh Morgan
This article appears in Oct 18-24, 2012.
And the familys of Brian Terry,anf Bob Krantz also demand justice, yet they are ignored by both the government and the media.
Learn to read and write the American language, maybe then you might be heard, but your son might have been transporting illegal drugs and trying to gain access to the United States illegally, and he might have been carrying a weapon and threatened the Border Patrol.
Don’t bring rocks to a gun fight!!!
Lesson: Don’t throw rocks at law enforcement agents, idiots.
My heart goes out to the Rodriquez and Barron families, may justice be brought for your families great loss. May an end be put to the long history of US government-enforced violence that continues along the US/Mexico border and in our communities.
What’s missing in this story is that the boy was shot six times in his back, while apparently fleeing.
How can any law enforcement officer justify shooting anyone in the back, even once?
Eight more shots were fired, lodging in the wall of a medical clinic on the other side – in an area where there are, even at this time of night, pedestrians and passing vehicles, which was a clear risk of injuring others. Unbelievably irresponsible behavior.
Also, I know the area well on both sides of the border and its geography makes some of the claims that US agents were in danger doubtful. Check out this link to see photographs
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/bor…
There is obviously much more to be discovered.
For even more context, watch this shocking video :
http://video.pbs.org/video/2225180660
America’s biggest policing force, Homeland Security is held accountable by no one.
Finally, reverse the situtation: Suppose a Mexican officer shot someone in the back who was on this side of the border?
Everyone who does Illegal Drugs, or hires Illegal Workers, IS …ultimately responsible for this persons life, and the lives of all the people on both sides who have been killed.
How does that “bud” taste now…
This young mans life was snuffed out in a matter of seconds and a lot of people think that’s just fine…..For me it is immorally wrong to shoot a boy in the back.
This type of action must stop on our borders. What will it be next time grandma and grandpa?
@cempiremtn: You make valid points. We’ve long refused to accept creating a market for illegal drugs and undocumented workers.
But are you including the boy that was killed as one that was participating in these illegal activities?
I’m not sure about that…
@markus_jim: I disagree that Perry and Krantz have been ignored by the media. Even my sister back in Pennsylvania knows both their names. As do both of us.
As for the government coming clean with its investigations, I’m inclined to agree. Especially because Officer Perry was killed by a shot in his back. I once met Officer Perry: no way would he ever turn his back.
Which might suggest that his tragic death was from “friendly fire.”
I want the FBI to release the video. Then we will see how many hateful people can still justify the killing of a 16 year old.
If you are participating in illegal activities does that make it okay to kill you? No one should be killed for that he was killed in Mexican territory and the agent should tell the truth and say what really happened, WE WANT PROOF, WE WANT TO SEE THE VIDEO. Border patrol agents should be trained properly, he shot him many times and six bullets entered his body. This kid just happened to be there. There’s no proof that he was carrying drugs and we all know that the officer has a history of excessive force. It is so sad that this could be anyone that I know that is just to be walking there because this stupid officer thought he was the one taking drugs to the states.
If you look at the crime scene, the border parol had the high ground, shooting through a 3.5 inch gap in the fence. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. The kid would have to have a hell of an arm for a rock to make contact, and the rock would have been on a high arc, with a lot of air time, more than enough to step out of the way. The border patrol was in no imminent danger.