Border Patrol agent shot
A U.S. Border Patrol agent was hospitalized after a shooting Tuesday morning near Arivaca in southern Arizona. His condition was not released.
TUCSON — A U.S. Border Patrol agent was hospitalized after being injured in a shooting early Tuesday morning near Arivaca, officials said.
The agency has released few other details, including the agent’s condition and the extent of his injuries.
The FBI is investigating the shooting, which took place Tuesday at 4:30 a.m., according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency that oversees Border Patrol.
CBP has not released the exact circumstances of the shooting. But in a statement the agency said the agent was transported to a local hospital and that several “subjects” were taken into custody.
The agency initially scheduled a press conference to release more details on Tuesday afternoon from their Tucson headquarters, but that was postponed until Wednesday morning.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey reacted to the shooting on Twitter, instructing the state to also help in the investigation.
“My office is monitoring this closely and I’ve asked the @Arizona_DPS to provide assistance and resources as necessary,” he said. “Our prayers are with the border patrol agent and his family.”
Tuesday morning’s shooting took place a day after Border Patrol unveiled a stone monument to honor a fallen agent killed 20 years ago.
Agent Alexander Kirpnick was shot and killed on June 3, 1998, while attempting to arrest drug mules in Potrero Canyon, south of Rio Rico.
According to CBP, 12 agents have been killed on duty in the Tucson sector since 1924. This sector covers most of the Arizona border.
In 2010, Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was shot and killed during an encounter with a “rip crew” gang west of Rio Rico, in a case that uncovered the gun-running operation known as “Fast and Furious.”
Two years later, Agent Nicholas Ivie was shot and killed by friendly fire east of Bisbee as he and other agents responded to a sensor activation in the middle of the night.