Border Patrol Agent Shot Woman 10 Times: Autopsy Reveals Details in Border Killing
An agent has shot a woman a total of 10 times from the hood of her car after she hit him with her vehicle in a bizarre incident in September - details are only being revealed now.
The border patrol agent operating in Southern California shot and killed the mother of five as he clung on to the top of the car, trying to get her to stop, according to an autopsy report released Thursday.
Despite only unloading 10 gunshots at the woman, Valeria "Munique" Tachiquin Alvarado, 32, suffered 14 gunshot wounds to her upper body, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner. The Examiner confirmed that it was likely that some of the bullets caused more than one wound to the mother of five.
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The incident in fact occurred on Sept. 28 but the autopsy details are only emerging now. The autopsy listed the death as a homicide and detailed that the gunshot wounds were the cause of death.
According to the autopsy, Alvarado was at a friend's apartment in Chula Vista when Border Patrol agents came with an arrest warrant – but for someone else. Fearing they had come for her Alvarado allegedly fled the location, hitting an agent and carrying him on the hood of the car for about 200 yards.
The agent fired at Alvarado 10 times until the car stopped, the autopsy report has confirmed.
Alvarado's family have been outraged at her death and have filed a claim for wrongful death against the Border Patrol. They claim that the agent in question had a past history of misconduct in a previous position. The family's attorney, Eugene Iredale, has shown documents detailing that the 34 year old agent, Justin Tackett, had previously been suspended four times for misconduct, including crashing a car and violating suspects' rights when he worked as an Imperial County sheriff's deputy, according to ABC News.
Meanwhile, the National Border Patrol Council, which represents agents, has said it is confident Tackett acted properly, and has insisted he reacted after fearing for his own life.
