The Tohono O’odham Nation Police Department and the FBI are investigating a fatal shooting by the Border Patrol on tribal land.
In a statement Sunday, the Tohono O’odham Nation Executive Office said Raymond Mattia, an enrolled member of the tribe, died Thursday night in an officer-involved shooting in Menagers Dam, a Tohono O’odham Nation community a few miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.
"Our hearts go out to his family and all those impacted during this difficult time," the statement read.
The office said it expected full consideration of all related facts but would not make further comments while investigations proceed.
Tucson TV station KVOA spoke with community members and family of Mattia, who said they were told he was shot an estimated 38 times. They said Mattia had called the Border Patrol to request assistance with migrants on his property.
Customs and Border Protection did not respond to questions Monday but told the Arizona Republic that agents from the Ajo Border Patrol Station, a substation of the agency's Tucson Sector, involved in the shooting were assisting the Tohono O'odham Nation Police Department.
The incident marks the second fatal shooting involving Border Patrol agents in the Tucson Sector this year. CBP data shows 158 use-of-force incidents have occurred in the sector since last October, accounting for more than third of Border Patrol use-of-force incidents nationwide within the same timeframe.
