Border agents shoot man who speeds from gate, rams pickup at San Diego County crossing

Man shot, hurt at San Diego County border crossing

SAN DIEGO — Federal officers shot and injured a man at the nation’s busiest border crossing Saturday after he sped away from a gate agent and rammed a pickup while crossing into San Diego County from Mexico, authorities said.

The shooting by two U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents occurred about 8:50 a.m at the San Ysidro Point of Entry, said San Diego Police Lt. Kevin Rooney.

The man drove up to a gate in a Chevrolet Tahoe and told a customs inspector he didn’t have any official identification. After offering some nonofficial documentation, the man was directed to a secondary inspection area.

Rooney said the driver accelerated up a departure lane, rammed a Ford pickup and crashed into concrete barriers as he tried to get into the northbound lanes of Interstate 5.

Agents on foot converged on the Tahoe and opened the door, trying to drag the driver out. The suspect drove in reverse, striking an agent with the Tahoe’s open door. The agent fired at the driver as he sped backward. A second agent opened fire and the driver crashed into the barrier again and stopped, Rooney said.

The suspect suffered one gunshot wound and was hospitalized under guard, Rooney said. The injury was not considered life threatening.

The man was not identified. He was described as in his 50s. It was unclear if he’ll be prosecuted federally or locally, Rooney said.

The truck he was driving was reported stolen in Colorado, Rooney said.

No agents were injured and nobody in the pickup was hurt, Rooney said.

The San Ysidro Point of Entry connects San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico. About 40,000 vehicles cross into the United States at the port each day, and it has 24 northbound lanes.

Three of the lanes were briefly closed while police investigated.

In September, several people were injured after the drivers of three vans filled with dozens of suspected illegal immigrants reportedly tried to storm through the border crossing and federal agents opened fire.