Military and police patrolling is inconsistent, according to Dominican residents 2:43
(CNN Spanish) --
The Dominican Republic reinforced a border crossing with Haiti with military personnel and will initiate an investigation after an incident that left a Haitian dead at the hands of a guard from the General Directorate of Customs and then caused riots in which two people were injured, the Dominican Ministry of Defense reported in a statement on Friday.
The incident occurred at the Pedernales crossing when, according to the statement, a man would have tried to enter the Dominican Republic with emergency equipment to generate electricity and was questioned by the customs agent.
According to the report, when the officer told him that he had to pay taxes for the team he wanted to enter, the Haitian tried to refuse the review.
Then a discussion and struggle began in which the Customs warden fired a shot that ended the life of the person with whom he had the struggle, the statement explained.
According to the Dominican Ministry of Defense, the incident "caused an uproar, several people who accompanied the citizen who was killed attacked the Customs guard and took his weapon."
At Least 17 Haitian Migrants Found Dead Off The Bahamas Coast
Subsequently, some people - from the Haitian side of the border - threw stones towards the Dominican side and even fired with the weapon they had removed, it was reported.
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"During the demonstration in the neighboring territory, two Haitians were injured, and for humanitarian reasons they were authorized to enter Dominican territory to be treated at the Elio Fiallo municipal hospital. The Haitian authorities were also authorized to lift the body of their dead citizen ", was explained in the statement.
It was not stated what happened to the security guard who pulled the trigger.
The Ministry of Defense said that it will investigate the incident and that the additional military troops sent will remain in the area "for as long as necessary to guarantee security and avoid disturbing public order in Dominican territory."
Until this Friday, the Haitian government had not made a public statement on the incident.
The Haitian Embassy in Santo Domingo did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment.
Jessica Hasbún contributed to this report.
