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‘What happened to Ray?’ Family of Native American man killed by Border Patrol in Arizona wants to know why he was shot

Raymond Mattia was shot to death on May 18. “We said our goodbyes while he was in a body bag,” a relative said. “The elders said it was very disrespectful.”

Police lights at a crime scene.

A relative of a Native American man who was killed by Border Patrol agents near the Arizona-Mexico border two weeks ago said she was talking to him moments before he was shot and he told her he had contacted the Border Patrol earlier in the evening to ask for help.

But the relative said none of the law enforcement agencies investigating the May 18 shooting death of Raymond Mattia has asked her or any other family members for information, and Customs and Border Protection’s official statement about the incident makes no mention of a call from Mattia.

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The relative said that she has been pressing law enforcement for information about the shooting since it happened, without success — and that the family was not even allowed to approach his body for hours. “I asked that night: ‘We want to talk to someone. What happened to Ray? We need answers,’” said the relative, who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation by law enforcement.

Read more on NBC News


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