Update: Man fatally shot by Border Patrol identified

Updated Oct 30, 2014, 1:56 pm ◇Originally posted Oct 29, 2014, 6:06 pm

Paul Ingram
TucsonSentinel.com

Paul Ingram/TucsonSentinel.comAgents cordoned off the street near the scene where a Mexican national was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent during an incident last week.

A Mexican national shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent southwest of Tucson has been identified as Edgar Amaro López, 23.

López died Friday of a single gunshot wound to the head, according to the Pima Medical Examiner's Office, which released his identity on Wednesday.

The shooting occurred after two Border Patrol agents pulled over the truck that López and at least two other men were traveling in 10 miles southwest of Tucson around 10:30 a.m. near South Vahalla and West Hermans Road, just north of the Tohono O'odham Nation, according to a spokeswoman for the agency.

The area is west of Casino del Sol and south of Ryan Field.

Two of the men escaped and the FBI, which is the lead agency on the case, continues to search for the men.

Although Border Patrol called the Drexel Heights Fire District to the scene, López died at the scene and was not taken to a hospital.

"These guys were smugglers and were armed," said Sean Chapman, an attorney representing one of the agents. Chapman said that López was reaching for his gun when he was shot.The attorney declined to identify his client.

After the shooting, Border Patrol agents searched the area with helicopters and all-terrain vehicles.

Agents found multiple weapons in the truck, including assault rifles and handguns, as well as body armor. Chapman said they also found shoes with carpet soles — often used by smugglers to hide their footprints.

Neither Border Patrol agent was injured in the incident.