U.S. Border Patrol Agent Shoots and Kills Female Undocumented Immigrant in Rio Bravo, Texas

By: Miguel Munoz, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2018

A fifteen year veteran of the United States Border Patrol answered a call regarding a report of undocumented immigrants at approximately 12:20 P.M. on Wednesday, May 23, 2018, in Rio Bravo, Texas, just south of Laredo, on the U.S.-Mexico Border and was the lone Border Patrolman answering that particular service call when he encountered a group of undocumented immigrants and alleges that he was rushed or attacked by the undocumented immigrants and took out his service-issued firearm and fired one shot into the group, striking a female undocumented immigrant allegedly in the head and who died at the scene of the incident from the gunshot wound.

The U.S. Border Patrolman radioed for help and other Border Patrol agents arrived and detained at least three of the undocumented immigrants from the group.  

The deceased female undocumented immigrant has been identified as 20 year old Claudia Patricia Gomez Gonzales of Guatemala.

The fatal incident is under investigation by multiple agencies, including the Texas Rangers, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Border Patrol, and the FBI.  

Texas civil rights groups and foreign consular officials have criticized the Border Patrolman’s alleged excessive use of force against the female undocumented immigrant.