U.S. border inspector fatally shoots knife-wielding Mexican man at California crossing

A U.S. border inspector fatally shot a knife-wielding Mexican man at a California crossing on Wednesday, and an agency official quickly defended his actions. The Customs and Border Protection officer fired his gun four times around midnight, striking the man in his chest and possibly in his neck at the port of entry in downtown Calexico, about 120 miles east of San Diego and across the border from Mexicali, Mexico, said Pete Flores, the agency's San Diego field office director. The 35-year-old Mexican, who was not permitted to enter the United States, was on a bicycle in a vehicle inspection lane for "trusted travelers" and appeared as if he wasn't going to stop, Flores said. The man wielded a knife that was about eight inches long after the inspector grabbed his other arm and forced the man to drop his bike. The man raised his knife and moved toward the inspector, who was backing away when the shots rang, said Flores, who didn't know the precise distance between the two men. The man was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The officer, who worked in Calexico since joining Customs and Border Protection in February 2008, was unharmed. Neither name was released...more