A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer fatally shot a bicyclist Wednesday at a border crossing in California after the man got off his bike and approached the agent with a knife in his hand, federal officials said.
Border Patrol officers administered first aid until emergency medical services arrived to take the man to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead, the agency said in a statement.
The shooting occurred at about 12 a.m. at a border crossing in Calexico, California. The officer, who has not been named, was not injured.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General, the Calexico Police Department and CBP are investigating the incident.
Border Patrol has recently come under increased scrutiny and criticism over agent-involved shootings. Earlier this month, a Border Patrol agent pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting death a teenager on the Mexican side of the border.
Christian Ramírez, director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, said he expects CBP to cooperate fully in the investigation.
“CBP must take immediate steps in order to protect the sanctity of life in our region,” Ramírez said in a statement, “and adopt mechanisms for transparency, accountability and oversight in order to prevent the escalation of state violence that has plagued southern border communities for far too long."
A 2013 report commissioned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection found that of 67 agent-related shootings between January 2010 and October 2012, 19 resulted in deaths. It also found that agents had repeatedly stepped in front of fleeing cars to justify opening fire, and that agents shot at rock throwers from across the border instead of simply moving out of harm’s way.
CBP recently reported a 26% drop in the number of use of force incidents involving their agents. Border Patrol agents were involved in 768 incidents in Fiscal Year 2015, compared to 1,037 in 2014. Of the 768 cases in which agents used force, 28 involved firearms and 740 used less lethal actions, the agency reported.
The ACLU said last week the agency ignored or glossed over numerous complaints alleging excessive force, intimidation, and other civil rights violations.