The FBI is investigating the death of a tribal member after U.S. Border Patrol agents shot him late last week on the Tohono O'odham reservation near Ajo, Arizona, authorities told USA Today on Monday.
In addition to the shooting death being under review by Customs and Border Protection's Office of Professional Responsibility, the Tohono O'odham Nation police are also looking into the incident.
Tohono O'odham Nation Tribal chairman Ned Norris Jr. said the shooting took place in the Meneger's Dam community and identified the victim as Raymond Mattia.
Meneger's Dam is just a few miles from the border with Mexico, where Title 42 coronavirus asylum limits expired less than a week before the incident, according to The Guardian.
"Our hearts go out to his family and all those impacted during this difficult time," Norris said in a news release. "As the investigation proceeds, the Nation expects full consideration of all related facts of the incident and an appropriate and expeditious response from relevant public safety agencies. Because the investigation is ongoing, we will refrain from making further comment at this time."
Mattia's family told Tucson TV station KVOA that Mattia called Border Patrol, because there were "multiple illegal immigrants who had trespassed into his yard and he wanted assistance getting them out of his property."