Mom of Mexican Teen Killed by Border Patrol Sues

The mother of a Mexican teen shot at least eight times in the back by US Border Patrol agents firing over the border is going to court to find out who killed her son. Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, 16, was shot by at least one agent in October 2012 as they fired on what they said was a group of rock-throwers. Witnesses say Jose wasn't among the rock-throwers but was shot dead as he walked home from a basketball game. His mother's lawsuit accuses agents of using "unreasonable and excessive force" and seeks unspecified damages, the Arizona Republic reports. Customs and Border Protection officials have refused to release surveillance footage or identify the agent or agents involved.

"I want to know who these people were who assassinated my child. Why were there so many bullets in my son's body?" the teen's mother tells the Los Angeles Times. "Put yourself in my shoes. Imagine if your child were shot 10 times—a child thrown on the floor in a pool of his own blood. And there are no answers. There is no justice." Her lawsuit, which is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union, comes a month after a federal appeals court decided the family of another Mexican teenager killed from across the border had the right to sue the agent involved, USA Today notes. (More Border Patrol stories.)