Shooting of José Rodríguez
View of the international border from the top of the U.S. Customs port of entry facility in Nogales, Arizona (January 2007) | |
| Date | October 10, 2012 |
|---|---|
| Location | Nogales, Arizona, United States Nogales, Sonora, Mexico |
| Outcome | U.S. Border Patrol Agent Lonnie Swartz acquitted of murder |
| Deaths | 1 |
On October 10, 2012, at the Mexico–United States border near Nogales, Arizona, U.S. Border Patrol agent Lonnie Swartz fired 16 shots at teenager José Antonio Elena Rodríguez (born January 4, 1996), killing him, on the grounds that young men threw rocks at him and other law enforcement agents.
Rodriguez was hit 10 times from behind by Swartz's shots. Swartz was charged with second degree murder for the killing. He was acquitted on the murder charge, but the jury failed to reach a verdict on two lesser charges; in his subsequent retrial on those charges, he was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter, while the jury again failed to return a verdict on the charge of voluntary manslaughter.