SAN DIEGO – A man who fired a starter pistol as he fled border inspectors was wounded after two officers shot at him at the nation’s busiest border crossing Thursday.
The afternoon shooting prompted U.S. Customs and Border Protection to temporarily suspend pedestrian travel into the United States from Mexico at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman Angelica De Cima said.
The man grew nervous under questioning at an inspection booth and tried to run away, she said. He fired a shot from a starter pistol as officers converged on him and then the officers opened fire.
Starter pistols are used in horse or car races and do not fire bullets, but the metallic object appeared to be a weapon, San Diego Police Lt. Kevin Rooney said.
“It appears to be a semiautomatic weapon to the naked eye,” he said. “It’s metal, silver in color with rubber grips on it.”