On-duty Border Patrol agent kills mother of 5 in Chula Vista

A autopsy was pending on a woman fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent Friday after a bizarre incident.

The agent shot the woman through the windshield of her car after he was dragged several hundred feet down a residential street in the San Diego suburb of Chula Vista, federal authorities said.

“Fearing for his life, he discharged his weapon, striking the driver, who died at the scene,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement.

The plainclothes agent was in the area serving a warrant, authorities said. No more details were provided. The neighborhood is about five miles from the Tijuana-San Diego border. The FBI and Chula Vista Police Department are investigating the incident.

While most agent-involved shootings in recent years have taken place along the border, agents also operate in neighborhoods near the border searching for suspected smugglers or illegal immigrants with criminal records.

According to Fox 5 San Diego, the woman was identified as Valeria Alvarado, 32, a mother of five who lived in the area. The station reported that some of her family members have questioned how the shooting happened and demanded a full investigation.

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-- Richard Marosi in San Diego and Shelby Grad

Photo: The woman's body can be seen near her car. Credit: Fox 5 San Diego