U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent Nicolas Ivie, 30, who was shot to death early Tuesday near the U.S.-Mexico line in Arizona.
By NBC News staff and wire reports
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has identified an agent who was shot to death near Naco, Ariz., early Tuesday as 30-year-old Nicolas Ivie, a native of Provo, Utah, who has been with the federal agency since 2008, KVOA.com in Tucson reported.
A news release from Customs and Border Protection said that Ivie and two other agents were responding to a motion sensor that was activated along the border. Another agent, whose name was not released, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was in stable condition after being airlifted to a local hospital.
The third agent was not harmed, George McCubbin, president of the National Border Patrol Council, a union representing about 17,000 border patrol agents, told The Associated Press.
In a statement on Tuesday, CBP said that Ivie died "at the hands of criminals operating on the border" near Naco.
The statement from Deputy Commissioner David Aquilar offered no details on the case.
"Agent Ivie died in the line of duty, protecting our nation against those who threaten our way of life," he said. "His death only strengthens our resolve to enforce the rule of law and bring those responsible to justice. Our thoughts and prayers are with Agent Ivie’s family and friends in this difficult time.”
See coverage at KVAO.com
The agents' Naco patrol base is named after Brian Terry — a border agent who was killed in December 2010 in an incident at the center of a controversy over a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives gun tracking operation known as "Fast and Furious."
A US border patrol agent was killed and another was hurt after they were shot while patrolling at a major drug corridor near the Arizona border with Mexico.
Brian A. Terry Border Patrol Station dedicated for slain agent
The base is about 100 miles southeast of Tucson.
The FBI, which is investigating the shooting with the Cochise County Sheriff's Office, said in a press briefing Tuesday afternoon that a special group of agents from Phoenix had been deployed to process the crime scene.
Feds reveal more charges in murder tied to 'Fast and Furious'
NBC News' Kari Huus and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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