Russia in Contact With US Over Gunfire Incident in California Involving 'Illegal Russian Migrants'

On Sunday, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detained two vehicles trying to barrel through a California border crossing. The cars were said to carry a total of 18 Russian immigrants, including young children.

Russian diplomats are in touch with American authorities in regard to an incident with Russian citizens that were said to have tried to cross the border between San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Mexico, Consul General of Russia in Houston Alexander Zakharov told Sputnik.

The remarks come after CBP released a statement saying that there was a use of force incident on Sunday at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in California.

According to the US border agency, a CBP officer opened fire when "a Ford SUV followed by a Mercedes sedan traveling together approached the primary inspection area at the San Ysidro Port of Entry from Mexico at a high rate of speed."

"A CBP Officer conducting pre-primary inspections walking in a pre-primary lane fired approximately four rounds, striking the Mercedes sedan. The Mercedes sedan collided into the Ford SUV, which had come to an abrupt stop," CBP stated. "As a result of the collision, two of the occupants in the Mercedes sedan suffered minor head contusions; however, no injuries resulted from the gunfire."

The group included 12 individuals in the first vehicle attempting to cross the border (seven adults, ages 21-53 and five children, ranging from less than a year to age 5) and six people in the second vehicle (four adults ages 24-43 and two children, ages 10 and 14.) All were described by CBP as citizens of Russia who had no documents to enter the United States.

The drivers of the vehicles, identified as men in their twenties, were arrested. The incident resulted in the closure of multiple lanes at the San Ysidro check point, and an investigation by the San Diego Police Department and the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility is ongoing.