Man killed by US Border agent a Mexican

Photo: Contributed

File photo of a U.S. Border Patrol agent looking out over Tijuana, Mexico, along the old border wall on the U.S.- Mexico border where it ends at the base of a hill in San Diego. (Gregory Bull, AP)

Authorities say a man shot after throwing large rocks at a U.S. Border Patrol agent was a 41-year-old Mexican citizen who died after suffering two gunshot wounds.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department released the name of Jesus Flores-Cruz on Wednesday night along with the new information on his death.

Authorities said the identity of Flores-Cruz was confirmed by a fingerprint match with a 1996 arrest by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. No further details on the arrest were released.

The Sheriff's Department says that on Tuesday morning Flores-Cruz began throwing increasingly large rocks at the unidentified agent who suspected him of crossing the border illegally.

The agent said he was hit in the head with a rock and fired at least twice in fear for his life.