A U.S. border agent shot 16 times through the gaps in the border fence in the span of 34 seconds on the night of October 10, 2012. 

Ten bullets struck and killed 16-year-old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, who was standing on the Mexico side of Ambos Nogales, a binational community. 

The border agent claimed someone was throwing rocks over the fence and that he fired in self-defense. Jose Antonio’s family disputes that it was him. 

The shooting set Jose Antonio’s mother, Araceli Rodriguez, and grandmother, Taide Elena, on a quest to seek answers and justice for his death. 

Details about what happened on the U.S side of the border would stay under wraps for years. In the meantime, Jose Antonio’s family mobilized to press the U.S. government to take action.   

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