Tucson Border Patrol Agent Shooting: What We Know So Far

TUCSON, AZ — The Border Patrol agent shot and wounded by an unknown number of assailants Tuesday is an experienced paramedic who treated his own injuries as agents coordinated an emergency evacuation by air ambulance to a hospital, the agency said in a Wednesday news conference.

Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent Rodolfo Karisch didn’t identify the agent or details about his injuries, but said he is a 21-year veteran of the agency. He is in "good spirits and stable condition," Karisch said.

The agent was checking sensors for activity around 4:30 a.m. in a remote, mountainous area near Chimney Canyon and Ruby Road, Karisch said. One of the assailants was close by when he fired several shots, and the agent was shot several times. Karish said “it is believed that he returned fire.”

Several people were taken into custody in the area and processed for immigration violations, but Karisch didn’t call them suspects in the border patrol agent’s shooting. “We have yet tie them to the shooting,” Karisch said. (Get Tucson Patch’s real-time news alerts and free morning newsletters. Like us on Facebook. Also, download the free Patch iPhone app or free Patch Android app.)

The agent had been patrolling alone in a remote area southwest of Tucson. About 10 miles from the border with Mexico, it is a known corridor for drug and human smuggling. It was featured in the documentary “Cartel Land.”

Fifth-generation Arizona cattleman and rancher Jim Chilton told the Arizona Daily Star that he was told by Border Patrol officials the agent was shot in the hand, leg and into the bulletproof vest that likely saved his life. The protective gear “worked, thank God,” Chilton told the newspaper. “How he got from that state to be rescued, I have no idea.”

Chilton, whose 50,000-acre ranch is nearby, said he’s seen an uptick in activity in the area over the last couple of months.

“Chimney Canyon is a wide canyon which undoubtedly has cartel scouts on the mountains that guide drug packers and individuals just trying to get into the U.S.,” Chilton said.

The FBI is the lead agency in the investigation, assisted by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. Anyone with information about the shooting should go to tips.fbi.gov.

File photo by John Moore/Getty Images