The U.S. Border Patrol says an agent fired his gun twice at an 18-year-old suspected drug smuggler after the man threw rocks at the agent during an encounter in southern Arizona.
The incident happened around 4 p.m. on Tuesday on Tohono O'odham Nation land about 75 miles southwest of Tucson.
The suspect, a Honduran national who has been deported in the past, was not struck by the bullets.
Spokesman said Matthew Eisenhauer the agent is a 12-year veteran of the agency who is now on standard administrative leave. The Border Patrol isn't naming the agent or suspect yet.
Eisenhauer said the suspect was with two other smugglers. Agents seized 247 pounds of marijuana during the arrest.
The Border Patrol says rocks can be deadly weapons and require the use of deadly force.
