Border Patrol agents fired 16 shots at a smuggling suspect, killing him after he led them on a lengthy chase, then attacked one of the agents with a club.

The man, a U.S. citizen whose name was not revealed by Customs and Border Protection, had repeatedly tried to escape from agents, and during one attempt began to bash an agent with a club after the agent had fallen to the ground.

That’s when three other agents opened fire, killing the suspect, CBP said.

A Nissan Rogue was spotted on April 2 trying to avoid going through a Border Patrol highway checkpoint in southern New Mexico, and agents began to track and follow it.

The vehicle led them on a 49-minute car chase covering more than 22 miles. That included one stop when the driver refused to get out of the vehicle, and agents tried to break out the window of the Nissan Rogue SUV. They failed, and the man drove off, CBP said.

Agents deployed a vehicle immobilization device which struck three of the tires, but the driver kept going another eight minutes before pulling off and walking away from the SUV down an unpaved road.

What happened next was captured on body camera footage, CBP said.

The man was holding a shirt in one hand and what CBP described as a “wooden club” in the other.

Agents approached with guns drawn and the man began to swing the club at them.

When one agent tried to use a stun gun, the man blocked the prongs with the shirt, twice.

An agent then approached with a baton, and the man swung the club. He missed, but the agent fell backward and that’s when the man began to bash him, CBP said. As he prepared to strike for a third time, the three other agents fired, killing the man.

CBP said the agents have been placed on administrative leave and the agency plans to release the video of the encounter “as soon as is appropriate” without interfering with the ongoing investigation.

• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.