One person was shot and in critical condition Tuesday in a shooting involving the Border Patrol near the U.S.- Mexico border, authorities in Arizona said.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said the FBI had asked it to “lead the use-of-force investigation involving the agent.” It noted that such investigations are standard when a federal agency is involved in a shooting in the county.

“We ask the community to remain patient and understanding as this investigation moves forward,” the department said in a statement.

In response to an Associated Press request for details of the shooting, the FBI said it was “investigating an alleged assault on a federal officer” near Arivaca, Arizona, a community about 10 miles from the border.

An FBI spokesperson did not immediately respond to an email and telephone call asking about how the alleged assault was related to the shooting but said the agency would participate in a planned 4 p.m. MT press conference with the sheriff’s department on the shooting.

The Santa Rita Fire District said it responded to the shooting and the person who was wounded was in custody.

“Patient care was transferred to a local medical helicopter for rapid transport to a regional trauma center,” the fire district said.

One level-one trauma center hospital in Tucson declined to release information, and the AP was waiting on a response from another.

The area is a common path for drug smugglers and migrants who illegally cross the border, so agents regularly patrol there.

Authorities released no information about the suspect. The shooting comes in a month that has seen three shootings — two fatal — by immigration officers involved in the massive Department of Homeland Security enforcement operation in Minnesota.

While there were numerous videos of those shootings taken by residents monitoring the enforcement operations in the Minneapolis area, the latest shooting in Arizona happened in a community of about 500 people apparently without any bystander video of the incident.

The sheriff department said its involvement in the investigation was the result of “long standing relationships” built over time in the border area to promote transparency.

Sheriff Chris Nanos, a Democrat, has previously said his agency will not enforce federal immigration law amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown and that he will use his limited resources to focus on local crime and other public safety issues.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to emails and telephone calls seeking more information.

Border Patrol agents fired weapons in eight incidents during the 12-month period through September 2025, 14 times during the year before that and 13 times the year before that.

French lawmakers have backed a bill banning social media for children under 15 in what one legislator likened to a “battle for free minds.”

The bill, which also bans mobile phones in high schools, passed late Monday by a 130–21 vote. The bill will now head to the Senate for discussion before a final vote.

“With this law, we are setting a clear boundary in society and saying social media is not harmless,” French lawmaker Laure Miller told the assembly.

“Our children are reading less, sleeping less and comparing themselves to one another more,” she continued. “This is a battle for free minds.”

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Macron has pushed lawmakers to fast-track the legislation so that the ban could be in place in time for the start of the next academic year in September.

“Banning social media for those under 15: this is what scientists recommend, and this is what the French people are overwhelmingly calling for,” Macron said after the vote. “Because our children’s brains are not for sale — neither to American platforms nor to Chinese networks. Because their dreams must not be dictated by algorithms.”

The idea of setting a minimum age for use of the platforms has gained momentum across Europe.

The vote comes days after the British government said it is considering similar restrictions as it tightens rules to protect children from harmful online content and excessive screen time.

PROTECTING KIDS FROM AI CHATBOTS: WHAT THE GUARD ACT MEANS

Australia introduced a world-first ban on social media for children under 16 years old in December, restricting access to platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.

France’s health watchdog reports that one in two teenagers spends between two and five hours a day on a smartphone. A December report found that about 90% of children ages 12 to 17 use smartphones daily to access the internet, with 58% using them for social media.

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The agency warned of links between heavy social media use and reduced self-esteem, as well as increased exposure to content tied to risky behaviors, including self-harm, drug use and suicide.

Fox News Digital’s Bonny Chu and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Existing differences of opinion about digital rules in the European Union and the United States should not be a source of confrontation, but should be treated in a respectful way, the Executive Vice President of the EU Commission, Henna Virkkunen, said on Euronews’ flagship programme The Europe Conversation.

“When we speak about democracies like the European Union and the USA, I think democratic countries and friends, we can handle those kinds of differences in our rules with respect,” urged Virkkunen, whose portfolio in the Commission includes Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy.

“Europeans are very committed to our rules because we want to make sure that we have a fair and safe democratic environment, also when it comes to the digital environment,” Virkkunen added.

Her comments came as the row over the controversial AI chatbot Grok between Brussels and Elon Musk’s social media platform X escalated.

On Monday, the European Commission launched a formal investigation into Grok, after the outcry at the platform’s failure to prevent the creation of sexually explicit images of real people, including children, without their consent.

If X is found to have breached EU online platform rules under the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA), the Commission could fine the company up to 6% of its global annual turnover.

“We are now collecting evidence from the X and Grok side,” Virkkunen said.

The US government has repeatedly cast EU action to rein in US tech giants as “discriminatory” and “unjustified” attempts to censor American viewpoints.

In December, the Trump administration denied visas to a former EU Commissioner, Thierry Breton and to other Europeans who were instrumental in EU efforts to counter hate speech and disinformation online.

When US tech companies are doing business in Europe, they have to follow the rules – but so do Asian or European companies, Virkkunen noted.

France’s under-15s social media ban

Asked whether she supports a social media ban for young teenagers as promoted in France, she avoided taking sides.

Instead, she stressed the necessity of having appropriate age verification tools in place to enforce such bans.

“Some very small kids, they already have their own social media accounts. And now the member states are discussing what the right age really is for that,” Virkkunen said.

“We are focusing our investigations now so that online platforms are really taking the responsibility that a high level of safety, security, and privacy is ensured for our minors, because it’s our obligation,” she added.

On Monday, France’s National Assembly backed a bill that would ban children and teenagers under the age of 15 from social media.

The law could come into force by next September if approved by the Senate.

“Our children and teens’ brains are not for sale,” the French President said. “Our children and teens’ emotions are not for sale, or to be manipulated – not by American platforms nor Chinese algorithms.”

The French legislation is part of a wave of measures being discussed across Europe, following Australia’s enforcement of the world’s strictest social media rules for children under 16 last year.

Denmark also wants to block access to social media for anyone under-15s, with potential, parental-approved, exceptions for 13- to 14-year-olds – a move that could potentially become law by mid-2026.