Investigator: Marines waited 22 minutes to help teenager in shooting

By Eduardo Montes / Associated Press Writer

EL PASO, Texas Marines who fatally shot a teenager on the TexasMexico
border waited 22 minutes before giving first aid or calling for help, the
head of the investigation said Friday.

Texas Ranger David Duncan also said that 20 minutes elapsed between the
time Ezequiel Hernandez Jr. allegedly shot at a military surveillance team
and the time a Marine returned fire. Duncan said evidence gathered so far
is raising questions about the military's selfdefense explanation for the
May 20 shooting in the hills 200 miles southeast of El Paso.

Military officials say a member of the fourman team shot Hernandez after
the teenager had fired twice at the Marines, who were watching a suspected
drug route at the request of the Border Patrol. The military maintains the
18yearold Hernandez had raised his .22caliber rifle for a third shot
when the Marine opened fire.

Duncan said he didn't know if the delay in medical aid might have played a
role in Hernandez's death. The Rangers have not yet received a copy of the
autopsy report.

An ambulance was finally requested when the Border Patrol and a sheriff's
deputy arrived on the scene.

Investigators have obtained subpoenas for three officials with Joint Task
Force Six, a Fort Blissbased military agency that coordinates antidrug
missions involving the armed forces and civilian authorities. Agency
spokeswoman Maureen Bossch said officials are ready to cooperate but have
not received subpoenas.

On Friday, a month after the shooting, demonstrators in Washington and El
Paso protested military patrols on the border. A group of people stood
across the street from the Immigration and Naturalization Service
headquarters in Washington holding a banner that read: "Stop the violence
at the border. Remember Ezequiel Hernandez."

"The military has a role to play, but it's not to police U.S. citizens,"
said the Rev. Bill Morton at a protest outside the El Paso federal building.

The U.S. House approved a measure Friday that could station up to 10,000
U.S. troops along the Mexican border to help stop illegal immigration and
drug trafficking.

Also Friday, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and Mexico's Foreign
Secretary Angel Gurria announced a campaign aimed at making the
international border safer. The TijuanaSan Diego border is becoming an
increasingly dangerous place for U.S. Border Patrol agents, who have been
fired upon in recent weeks by gunmen on the Mexico side of the
international line. The committee on public safety will focus on
crossborder violence in the San DiegoTijuana region, exchanging
information and evidence in investigations.

Copyright 1997, The Detroit News