Gunman fires on Border Patrol agent
Yuma Sun
BY JONATHAN ATHENS, SUN STAFF WRITER
Published on: November 29, 2005
Four Yuma sector Border Patrol agents were shot at several times shortly after midnight on Tuesday near the U.S. Port of Entry at San Luis, Ariz., by an unidentified gunman, who remained at large in Mexico, the Border Patrol said.
No one was reported injured in the incident, which marks the first time in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 that Border Patrol agents in this area have been shot at, said Yuma sector Border Patrol spokesman Michael Gramley.
"It signifies the smugglers in this area are visibly frustrated and are reacting to our move to gain operational control in the Yuma sector," Gramley said.
The four agents, whose names were not released, were looking for an unspecified number of illegal immigrants who had just crossed into the United States when the gunman opened fire, Gramley said. The agents heard four to five rounds being fired from an unspecified location near the metal fence that separates a portion of Yuma County from Mexico, Gramley said.
The agents, who heard the rounds hit the ground near them, sought cover behind their patrol vehicles and the illegal immigrants they were attempting to apprehend fled on foot back into Mexico, he said.
A Customs and Border Protection Air helicopter and Mexican officials responded to the shooting incident, according to a news release issued by the Border Patrol
Gramley said the four agents did not shoot back in this particular incident.
Agents in the Yuma sector last year were fired upon five times by suspected alien and drug smugglers, but no agent or gunman was reported injured in any of those incidents, he said.
Last year, Yuma sector Border Patrol agents shot at aggressors near the Mexico border a total of 10 times, according to Border Patrol statistics.
In an unrelated incident, a Border Patrol supervisor at 8:15 a.m. on Tuesday was reportedly kicked once in the face by a 25-year-old Mexican illegal immigrant male several hundred yards east of the San Luis port of entry in a commercial trucking lot, Gramley said.
The agent, whose name is not being released, managed to maintain control of the illegal immigrant until additional Border Patrol agents arrived, Gramley said.
The alleged incident marks the 18th time since Oct. 1 that a Yuma sector Border Patrol agent has been physically assaulted in the line of duty, according to statistics provided by the Border Patrol.
Last year, Border Patrol agents here were reportedly assaulted 119 times in the line of duty, the Border Patrol reported.
© Copyright 2005 YumaSun.com
BY JONATHAN ATHENS, SUN STAFF WRITER
Published on: November 29, 2005
Four Yuma sector Border Patrol agents were shot at several times shortly after midnight on Tuesday near the U.S. Port of Entry at San Luis, Ariz., by an unidentified gunman, who remained at large in Mexico, the Border Patrol said.
No one was reported injured in the incident, which marks the first time in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 that Border Patrol agents in this area have been shot at, said Yuma sector Border Patrol spokesman Michael Gramley.
"It signifies the smugglers in this area are visibly frustrated and are reacting to our move to gain operational control in the Yuma sector," Gramley said.
The four agents, whose names were not released, were looking for an unspecified number of illegal immigrants who had just crossed into the United States when the gunman opened fire, Gramley said. The agents heard four to five rounds being fired from an unspecified location near the metal fence that separates a portion of Yuma County from Mexico, Gramley said.
The agents, who heard the rounds hit the ground near them, sought cover behind their patrol vehicles and the illegal immigrants they were attempting to apprehend fled on foot back into Mexico, he said.
A Customs and Border Protection Air helicopter and Mexican officials responded to the shooting incident, according to a news release issued by the Border Patrol
Gramley said the four agents did not shoot back in this particular incident.
Agents in the Yuma sector last year were fired upon five times by suspected alien and drug smugglers, but no agent or gunman was reported injured in any of those incidents, he said.
Last year, Yuma sector Border Patrol agents shot at aggressors near the Mexico border a total of 10 times, according to Border Patrol statistics.
In an unrelated incident, a Border Patrol supervisor at 8:15 a.m. on Tuesday was reportedly kicked once in the face by a 25-year-old Mexican illegal immigrant male several hundred yards east of the San Luis port of entry in a commercial trucking lot, Gramley said.
The agent, whose name is not being released, managed to maintain control of the illegal immigrant until additional Border Patrol agents arrived, Gramley said.
The alleged incident marks the 18th time since Oct. 1 that a Yuma sector Border Patrol agent has been physically assaulted in the line of duty, according to statistics provided by the Border Patrol.
Last year, Border Patrol agents here were reportedly assaulted 119 times in the line of duty, the Border Patrol reported.
© Copyright 2005 YumaSun.com
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