© 2025 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Murder Trial Opens For Border Patrol Agent Who Shot Mexican Teenager

A Border Patrol agent is on trial for murder more than five years after he shot through a fence on the U.S.-Mexico border, killing a teenager on the other side.

Lonnie Swartz faces second-degree murder charges for the death of 16-year-old Mexican citizen Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez in 2012. Swartz shot Rodriguez 10 times across the border in Nogales.

Here & Now‘s Robin Young speaks with Michel Marizco ( @BorderReporter), senior editor of KJZZ’s Fronteras Desk.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

KCUR prides ourselves on bringing local journalism to the public without a paywall — ever.

Our reporting will always be free for you to read. But it's not free to produce.

As a nonprofit, we rely on your donations to keep operating and trying new things. If you value our work, consider becoming a member.