San Ysidro

A Mexican citizen was shot and wounded Monday night by members of the Border Crimes Task Force, San Diego police said.

Marcos Contreras-Martinez was taken to UC San Diego Medical Center with gunshot wounds to his left arm, left buttocks and right foot.

The members of the task force, composed of officers from the San Diego Police Department and the U.S. Border Patrol, patrol the border canyon areas for bandits who rob undocumented aliens crossing into California. The unit was about a quarter-mile north of the border and a mile east of the San Ysidro port of entry when a team of four officers was confronted by three men.

The men were silhouetted against the horizon in a poorly lighted area, but one was seen carrying a large item resembling a 2-by-4, Police Sgt. Ted Armijo said. The three men separated and approached the officers, one in front and two from the rear. After one of the men said something that the officers couldn’t hear, the four officers spotlighted their assailants with their flashlights and saw that the one in front was actually holding a rifle, police said.

According to police reports, the man, who was masked, then raised the rifle and aimed it at the officers, who responded by opening fire.

Contreras-Martinez was wounded, and two other men fled toward the border. It is not known if they were injured.

Officers found a .22-caliber rifle at the scene, a mask and a 12-gauge shotgun, Armijo said.