The President's idea of putting troops on the border isn't new. We had troops on the border 21 years ago and Marine snipers shot and killed an innocent high school kid out herding his family's goats. The young man had a .22 rifle and may have pointed it in the direction of the soldiers, though he likely never saw them and had no idea there were camouflaged Marines anywhere around. Putting soldiers trained for combat in war zones in rural areas can be a dangerous thing.
disq.us
On May 20, eighteen-year-old high school student Esequiel Hernandez Jr. was shot and killed near his house by the leader of a U.S. Marine Corps patrol on an anti-drug operation near the U.S.-Mexico border in Redford, Texas. Hernandez was tending goats about a mile from his home when the shooting occurred. The incident is the first time that military forces on anti-drug duty have shot and killed a U.S. citizen. After the incident, border patrol activities by the military were suspended (Thaddeus Herrick, "Marine on anti-drug duty shoots, kills student," Houston Chronicle, May 22, 1997, p. 37A; "Border Drug Patrols Are Halted After Killing," New York Times, July 11, 1997, p. A17).
MARINES SAY TEENAGER SHOT AT THEM, BUT AUTOPSY RESULTS DON'T MATCH STORY
Military officials claim Hernandez inexplicably fired his antique .22-caliber rifle twice at four Marines, and was preparing to shoot a third time when he was fatally shot in the side with an M-16 combat rifle. The soldier named in the shooting is Cpl. Clemente Banuelos. The Marine patrol was on loan to the Border Patrol from Camp Pendleton (CA), and was participating in operations under Joint Task Force-6, which runs military anti-narcotics efforts on the Border. By law, military personnel involved in domestic law enforcement are not allowed to search, seize, arrest or confront a suspect. Military involvement is strictly limited to activities such as surveillance and intelligence (10 USCA Sec. 375). Soldiers are allowed to return fire in self-defense.
Neighbors said Hernandez used his rifle to ward off coyotes, and for target practice, and suggest that is what the teenager thought he was doing if he fired any shots. "Personally, I don't think this kid ever saw them, by the indication my Rangers are telling me," said Captain Barry Caver, spokesman for the Texas Rangers, the state law enforcement agency that is investigating the killing. The Marines were heavily camouflaged, and were trained to conceal themselves so as not to be detected. The shooting appears to have taken place from a distance of 375 to 600 feet (James Pinkerton, "Ranger says Marines' account doesn't `exactly jibe,'" Houston Chronicle, May 24, 1997, p. 18A). ........ |
