Border Patrol agents shot at from Mexico while rescuing a 4-year-old migrant

Border Patrol agents say they came under gunfire from Mexico on Monday while they were working to rescue a 4-year-old boy whom smugglers had dropped into the U.S. from the border wall.

Agents saw the boy dropped Monday night just after 9 p.m. and summoned firefighters and emergency medical to the scene. They were there, along with Border Patrol agents and the boy, when the gunfire began. 

The U.S. side of the border at that location has multiple layers of fence, and authorities said shots were bouncing off one of the walls near the group.
“Agents reported hearing both the impact and ricochet of gunshots off of the secondary border barrier just north of their location,” Customs and Border Protection said in a statement detailing the attack.

A CBP helicopter deployed to provide air cover and Mexican authorities rushed to the spot on their side where agents believed the shots came from.
Two days before that incident, a Border Patrol supervisor said he came under fire while patrolling in the San Ysidro Mountains.

CBP said “air assets” responded and Border Patrol operators trained cameras on the location, pinpointing a group on the Mexican side. One of them appeared to be carrying a rifle.

Both U.S. and Mexican authorities are probing the shootings, but no arrests were detailed.

The Border Patrol said more agents have been deployed to the area.

“Border violence is a significant threat to public safety and to the Border Patrol agents charged with securing our nation’s borders,” said Aaron M. Heitke, chief patrol agent for the Border Patrol’s San Diego sector. “This is another example of the inherent dangers that agents face every day.”