[h=3]Associated Press[/h]PHOENIX—A U.S. Border Patrol agent was killed Tuesday and another was wounded in a shooting in Arizona near the Mexican border, the Border Patrol said.
The agents were shot while patrolling on horseback in Naco, Ariz., shortly after midnight, according to the Border Patrol.
A third agent wasn't harmed, said George McCubbin, president of the National Border Patrol Council, a union representing about 17,000 agents.
The wounded agent was airlifted to a hospital after being shot in the ankle and buttocks, the Border Patrol said. He was in surgery and was expected to recover, Mr. McCubbin said.
The shooting occurred after an alarm was triggered on one of the many sensors along the border and the three agents went to investigate, said Cochise County Sheriff's spokeswoman Carol Capas.
Authorities haven't identified any suspects, Ms. Capas said. She said it isn't known whether the agents returned fire. Authorities didn't identify the agents, who were assigned to the Naco station.
The last U.S. Border Patrol agent fatally shot on duty was Brian Terry, who was killed in a shootout with Mexican bandits near the border in December 2010. The shooting was later linked to the U.S. government's Fast and Furious operation against gun smuggling.
Fast and Furious was run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Phoenix in 2009 and 2010. Agents allowed sales of about 2,000 guns, costing about $1.5 million, to suspected smugglers. The aim was to track the weapons to top traffickers, but agents seized only about 100 of the firearms. Many have turned up at crime scenes in Mexico and the U.S.
The Border Patrol station in Naco was recently named after Mr. Terry.
The agents were shot while patrolling on horseback in Naco, Ariz., shortly after midnight, according to the Border Patrol.
A third agent wasn't harmed, said George McCubbin, president of the National Border Patrol Council, a union representing about 17,000 agents.
The wounded agent was airlifted to a hospital after being shot in the ankle and buttocks, the Border Patrol said. He was in surgery and was expected to recover, Mr. McCubbin said.
The shooting occurred after an alarm was triggered on one of the many sensors along the border and the three agents went to investigate, said Cochise County Sheriff's spokeswoman Carol Capas.
Authorities haven't identified any suspects, Ms. Capas said. She said it isn't known whether the agents returned fire. Authorities didn't identify the agents, who were assigned to the Naco station.
The last U.S. Border Patrol agent fatally shot on duty was Brian Terry, who was killed in a shootout with Mexican bandits near the border in December 2010. The shooting was later linked to the U.S. government's Fast and Furious operation against gun smuggling.
Fast and Furious was run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Phoenix in 2009 and 2010. Agents allowed sales of about 2,000 guns, costing about $1.5 million, to suspected smugglers. The aim was to track the weapons to top traffickers, but agents seized only about 100 of the firearms. Many have turned up at crime scenes in Mexico and the U.S.
The Border Patrol station in Naco was recently named after Mr. Terry.