Border Killing Video Raises Questions
PHILLIPS: Day 52 of the gulf oil crisis and an ominous new development. Oil from the massive spill in the gulf has moved into the inland waterway along coastal Alabama, forcing the Coast Guard to close Perdido Pass. That's the main water access, by the way, to the gulf, for fishermen and boaters in that popular resort town of Orange Beach. Other top stories. Iran dismissed the latest U.N. sanctions as annoying flies and useless. It comes a day after the U.N. approved a fourth round of sanctions against Tehran over its disputed new program. Tehran also says they will review relations with the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency. And he was just seven years old, but in the end, he was brutalized like a grown man. Afghan officials say suspected Taliban militants have executed a seven-year-old boy in Afghanistan's Helmand province. The Taliban accuses him of being a spy. The Mexican government continues to press for information and wants a quick and transparent investigation into the shooting death of a 14-year-old Mexican boy. A U.S. border patrol agent shot and killed him at the border in Juarez on Sunday. Now, cell phone video of the incident has been released. The agent claims illegal immigrants surrounded him at the border and were throwing rocks. On the right side of the screen you see him on the U.S. side holding someone and aiming his weapon at someone about 60 feet away in Mexico. You can then hear at least three gunshots on the tape. And then 14-year-old Sergio Hernandez was shot in the head. The boy's parents say he was a straight A student and too small to even threaten anyone.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He was just a kid.</s>MARIA GUADALUPE GUERECA, MOTHER (through translator): He didn't even kill him in his land. He was here in Mexico. Why did he do it?</s>PHILLIPS: The cell phone video may offer clues but it doesn't necessarily provide much context. Let's take a closer look. CNN Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve in Washington. Jeanne, what is the U.S. saying about this now?</s>JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this point they're not making any comment on the video because this is an ongoing investigation. Last night I spoke to the FBI in El Paso. At that point, at least they're still sticking to their version of events. If we take another look at that video, you can see that these group of men was on the U.S. side of the border. When the border patrol agent approaches on his right, then they turn and as you can see, then they run back across except for one that he is detaining, obviously as he appears to hold his gun up, but there's an edit in this videotape right there. And it is unclear, of course, what's happening during that period of time. We don't know if indeed rocks were being thrown or not. That part of the video is missing here. It's unclear where exactly the young man was when the first shots were fired and when he was hit and what direction he was heading. And so still things, very unclear. What appears to be at issue, at least is the version of events that says the border patrol agent was surrounded by people. That's what the FBI said. That he was surrounded being hit with rocks. There's no indication from what we can see here that there's anybody behind him. Everybody appears to have fled towards or over the Mexican border, Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: So how troublesome is this border? Can you put that in perspective for us, Jeanne? And what's become of the shooter at this point?</s>MESERVE: Well, at this point in time, the shooter is on administrative leave as this investigation is ongoing. We all know how troublesome this border is. There have been a lot of incidents down there and each side in this dispute is presenting numbers that they say illustrate one side of the story or another. The Mexicans, for example, the Mexican government are saying that in the last three years, you've seen an increase in the number of Mexicans killed or injured by immigration authorities, the numbers go back to 2008 where there were five incidents. The next year, there were 12. So far this year and there have been 17, but CBP also has numbers. These numbers cover from the period from the beginning of the fiscal year, October 1st to May 31 and this the number of assaults on border agents. They say the numbers have gone from 745 in '08 to 658 in '09. In '010, there have been 799. So clearly more instances of confrontation. The border patrol also saying that agents have fired their guns 31 times so far this year. Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: Jeanne Meserve, thanks. And the Texas river burst its banks that rises more than nine feet in just a few hours and takes everything in its path.