COVENTRY, Vt. (DDN) – A US Border Patrol agent was fatally shot on a roadway in northern Vermont, south of the Canadian border, police said Monday.
The FBI confirmed the fatality, as did Benjamine Huffman, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in Washington.
According to the FBI, in addition to the agent, a suspect in the shooting was killed, and a second suspect was injured and arrested during the confrontation on Interstate 91 in Coventry, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the Canadian border.
The FBI stated that there was no ongoing threat to the public.
Huffman stated that the death occurred “in the line of duty.” The agent’s identity, who was assigned to the US Border Patrol’s Swanton Sector, was not immediately revealed. The section includes Vermont, as well as parts of New York and New Hampshire.
Federal authorities did not disclose any additional information, but said it would be released as it became available.
A section of Interstate 91 was closed in both directions for nearly two hours later. The northbound lanes reopened just after 5 p.m. In addition to federal officials, the Vermont State Police were conducting an investigation. The FBI reacted from its Albany, New York headquarters.
Huffman stated that the death would be “swiftly investigated.”
“Every single day, our Border Patrol agents put themselves in harm’s way so that Americans and our homeland are safe and secure,” Huffman said in a written statement.
Coventry is adjacent to US Customs and Border Protection’s Newport Station, which is part of the Swanton Sector. The international boundary with Canada spans 295 miles (475 kilometers).
Vermont Senators Bernie Sanders, Peter Welch, and Becca Balint issued a joint statement expressing condolences to the agent’s family and stating that Border Patrol agents “deserve our full support in terms of staffing, pay and working conditions.”
Reference: A US border patrol agent was shot and killed in Vermont south of border, authorities say
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