Authorities said the agent opened fire after he came under attack by a group of migrants, but a witness disputed that account.

DALLAS(TIP): A U.S. Border Patrol agent shot and killed a migrant near the Mexican border in Texas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Thursday, May 24.

The agent was responding at about 12:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. ET) Wednesday, May 23, to a report of “illegal activity” near a culvert in Rio Bravo, in Webb County about 10 miles south of Laredo, when he encountered a group of migrants, according to Customs and Border Protection.

“Initial reports indicate that as the agent attempted to apprehend the group, he came under attack by multiple subjects using blunt objects,” the agency said in a statement.

The agent fired at least one round and fatally shot one of the migrants, according to the agency, which said three people whom it described as “illegal aliens” were arrested. It didn’t identify the officer or the shooting victim.

Marta Martinez, who lives near the scene, said that she heard the shot and began recording video on her cellphone. She told NBC affiliate KGNS of Laredo that the victim was a young woman.

In the video, which Martinez posted to Facebook, people in uniform can be heard yelling, apparently at the migrants, “See what happens?” and “See what you caused?”

Martinez said she was shocked by the events.

“They come here to the United States to live the American dream,” she told KGNS. “So, there’s no American dream right there. She died right there on the scene.”

The FBI and the Texas Rangers are investigating, Customs and Border Protection said. Authorities scheduled a news conference for Friday, May 25.

The shooting comes as President Donald Trump has been ramping up his rhetoric about illegal immigration. In a speech last week in Washington, the president referred to some people who cross the border illegally as “animals.”

(Source: KGNS)