By Mitchell Willetts
The Charlotte Observer
EL PASO, Texas — Gunmen on the south side of the U.S.- Mexico border opened fire on a border agent patrolling near El Paso, Texas, on Friday, officials said.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an agent was driving along the Rio Grande River around 3 a.m. when gunfire erupted from the Mexican side of the river, sending the agent speeding for cover.
Camera operators spotted the source of the shots: two people “with what appeared to be a rifle shooting north from the Mexican side of the Rio Grande River,” CBP said in a statement.
They fired about 20 shots at the agent from 150 yards away.
“Fortunately, none of the rounds struck the agent,” CBP said.
After firing at the agent, the two assailants climbed into a sedan and drove away. Mexican authorities were contacted and officers were sent to the scene.
The FBI is handling the investigation, the statement said.
The shooting comes less than a month after a banner was hung on a Juarez bridge threatening violence against U.S. border agents and others for interfering in human smuggling operations, according to Border Report.
Local authorities quickly removed the banner, but the message was received.
“As with any threat made against CBP personnel, it will be handled accordingly and not taken lightly,” CBP told Border Report in July.
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