Mexican woman shot in head in Nogales, Arizona, by Border Patrol files claim

Attorneys for a Mexican woman who was shot in the head by a Border Patrol agent and survived on Wednesday announced they filed a claim against the U.S government as a precursor to a federal lawsuit. 

The claim by Marisol García Alcántara, who was suspected of entering the U.S. illegally before the shooting over the summer in Nogales, Arizona, is necessary before a civil action is filed next year with the U.S. District Court in Tucson. 

"I want to know why, why did they do that and why me?" García, 37, said in an interview last week from her family home outside Mexico City. 

"I am looking for justice, I want an apology from that person and help for medical care and medicine because I can't work," she said. 

The bullet entered García's head above her left eye and fragments still remain in her brain, putting her at risk of seizures. She said that a half-year later she still suffers from loss of memory, dizzy spells and headaches.

A CBP spokesperson said the agency could not comment because the shooting was still being investigated internally. It will also be reviewed by the CBP's National Use of Force Review Board, the spokesperson said.