One person was shot and in critical condition Tuesday in a shooting involving the Border Patrol near the U.S.- Mexico border, authorities in Arizona said.
The FBI said it was “investigating an alleged assault on a federal officer” near Arivaca, Arizona, a community about 10 miles from the border. The area is a common path for drug smugglers and migrants who illegally cross the border, so agents regularly patrol there.
The Santa Rita Fire District said it responded to the shooting and the person who was wounded was in custody.
“Patient care was transferred to a local medical helicopter for rapid transport to a regional trauma center,” the fire district said.
One level-one trauma center hospital in Tucson declined to release information, and The Associated Press was waiting on a response from another.
Authorities released no information about the suspect. The shooting comes comes in a month that has seen three shootings — two fatal — by immigration officers involved in the massive Department of Homeland Security enforcement operation in Minnesota.
The shooting involved a Border Patrol agent and a suspect, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department told the Arizona Daily Star.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said it was working with federal authorities in response to the shooting
U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to emails and telephone calls seeking more information.