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Mexican asylum seeker cuts his throat after CBP officials shot him

A video showed the man approaching U.S. officials and raising a hand to his neck

Police officers keep watch at the crime scene where a Mexican asylum-seeker slit his own throat after being denied entry into the United States – Photo: Jesús González/REUTERS
09/01/2020 |12:21Newsroom & Agencies |
Redacción El Universal
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A Mexican slit his throat on the international bridge that connects Mexico and the U.S.

The man, who has not been identified, tried to enter the United States at the Pharr–Reynosa International Bridge between the Mexican border city of Reynosa and Pharr , Texas .

When the man insisted on being let into the U.S. and refused to leave the bridge, officials shot him in the arm.

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The officials , who were not allowed to speak publicly, said the man drew a knife and cut his throat when denied access to the United State s. Officials said the man was seeking .

“He committed suicide ,” one of the officials said. The man killed himself on the Mexican side of the bridge, just meters away from the international dividing line , the other source said.

A short, grainy video shared by one of the security sources showed the man, dressed in a blue shirt, approaching U.S. officials on the bridge and raising a hand to his neck.

Photos shared by the source showed the man’s body lying in a pool of blood with his throat cut.

Officials

said the man was in his 30s.

The Attorney General’s Office for the state of Tamaulipas , where Reynosa is located, said it was investigating the man’s death .

Many who are seeking asylum in the United States say their lives are at risk at home from violent criminal gangs , which have made parts of the country increasingly dangerous. Homicides have reached record levels in Mexico during the last two years and at least since Mexico started its war on drugs .

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