Last Updated Jun 12, 2018 3:23 PM EDT
TUCSON, Ariz. — The U.S. Border Patrol says one of its agents has been wounded in a shooting in southern Arizona near the U.S.-Mexico border. A Border Patrol statement says the agent was taken to a hospital Tuesday morning for treatment but provided no information on the agent’s injuries or the circumstances of the shooting.
The statement says the shooting happened south of the community Arivaca at 4:30 a.m. and that several people referred to as “subjects” were taken into custody.
The statement says the FBI and the Office of Professional Responsibility of U.S. Customs and Border Protection are investigating.
Rep. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, tweeted Tuesday afternoon that the agent survived the shooting.
Arivaca is southwest of Tucson and about 10 miles from the border.
Jim Chilton, an Arivaca cattle rancher, said in an interview with The Associated Press that the shooting happened in a remote part of his ranch that is frequently used by drug and migrant smugglers.
Chilton said a Border Patrol official sent him an email Tuesday morning informing him the agent was alone when he was wounded on his ranch, and was struck in the leg and the hand.
Chilton says several bullets also struck the agent’s protective vest and that the vest probably saved his life. He also says several people were detained.
The Border Patrol official who the rancher said wrote the email, Lisa A. Reed, did not immediately respond to an email seeking confirmation of the details that Chilton provided.
Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokesman Chris Sullivan declined comment.
Chilton is a well-known Arizona backer of President Donald Trump’s efforts to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
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