AZMEX UPDATE 6 2 OCT 3012
Note: no overnight information from Mexican side.
Note: Hwy 80 near Mile marker 352 should put it about 4 or 5 mile up
the road from Paul Spur, and 3 to 5 miles from the border depending
on actual location.
NAFBPO Press Release-Two Border Patrol Agents Shot, One Killed
October 2, 2012
http://m3report.wordpress.com/
For immediate release
Early this morning, Tuesday, October 2, two Border Patrol Agents were
shot. One, whose name we do not yet know, was killed. The shootings
reportedly took place eight miles north of the international border
with Mexico, near the town of Naco, Arizona. The agents were thought
to be responding to sensor alerts. Drugs may have been involved but
we lack any further details at this moment. We note the cruel irony
that this murder takes place within a week after the Border Patrol
station at Naco, Arizona, was named for Brian Terry, an agent who was
killed by transnational criminals near Rio Rico, AZ in December, 2010.
What is clear is this: yet again, an agent has been murdered and
another wounded. Despite assurances from this administration that
the border is secure and under control, it remains a dangerous place,
far too open to smuggling, controlled as much by the transnational
criminals as by the United States.
In recent years NAFBPO has argued against the baseless claims that
the border is under control. It is not, and this murder offers one
more example of that sad fact. Furthermore, for some time NAFBPO has
been certain that as pressure on drug smuggling routes in the Nogales/
Tucson corridor increases the transnational criminals will move to
areas further east that are less heavily monitored. This event
supports that conclusion.
Despite the clear probability that transnational criminals will move
their operations to less patrolled areas, some environmental groups
in New Mexico want to establish wilderness areas or a national
monument in Dona Ana County, adjacent to the border. If that is done,
the Border Patrol will be hampered in its operations. NAFBPO is
baffled at the invitation being extended to the lawless elements that
would certainly expand their operations in a protected area so close
to the Mexican border.
The border insecurity that exists now is a national security and a
public safety issue that must be addressed in serious fashion, not
with hollow statements from the Department of Homeland Security that
all is well. It demonstrably is not.
Kent Lundgren, Chairman
National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers
www.nafbpo.org
nafbpo@gmail.com
2 border agents shot, 1 killed responding to sensor near Bisbee
Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Ivie, 30, was killed after he and two
other agents responded to a sensor hit near mile-maker 352 on Highway
80.
• By Brady McCombs and Tim Steller Arizona Daily Star
A 30-year-old border agent was shot and killed early today while
checking on a triggered ground sensor with two other agents near
Bisbee, officials said.
Nicholas Ivie was one of three agents working on foot about 2 a.m.
when someone opened fire on them, killing Ivie and wounding another
agent. The third agent was not injured.
The shooting took place about five miles north of the border and
seven miles east of Bisbee south of Arizona Highway 80, Cochise
County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Carol Capas said. Agents and
deputies are spending the day combing through the area south of the
highway and northwest of Paul Spur Road, in the southern foothills of
the Mule Mountains.
They are processing the scene, but they are not pursuing a suspect,
she said
Officials provided little new information at a press conference at
the Border Patrol's Naco station this afternoon.
James Turgal, the FBI's special agent in charge in Phoenix, said it
could take investigators a few days to finish processing the crime
scene. He declined to answer any questions about the shooting or what
it meant in a larger perspective, saying multiple times he wanted to
"stay on message" about the tragic loss of life.
"Last night's event demonstrated the danger law enforcement officers
face every day along the southwest border everyday," Turgal said.
Asked about a report that Mexican officials have two suspects in
custody, Turgal said he didn't want to talk about it to prevent
prejudicing anything U.S. and Mexican officials are working on.
Jeff Self, Arizona joint field commander for U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, got choked up during his brief statements. He said Agent
Ivie died at the "hands of criminals operating" near Naco and that he
died protecting the nations from those "who threaten our way of life."
Self and Turgal offered their condolences to agent Ivie's wife and
two children, both young girls.
Ivie had been with the Border Patrol since January 2008 and was
originally from Provo, Utah, the agency said.
Ivie was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
and served as a lay counselor who helped his ward's bishop, said Dr.
Jarrett Hamilton, a fellow member of the church.
Hamilton spoke with Ivie about 6 p.m. Monday, only hours before the
shooting, he said. They were discussing a tithe that Hamilton's young
son had offered at church the previous day, Hamilton said.
"It's such a tragic loss, and I'm so sad," Hamilton said.
The wounded agent was airlifted to University Medical Center. He was
shot in the ankle and buttocks and suffered non-life threatening
injuries. He came out of surgery this morning and was doing well,
said Art del Cueto, president of the National Border Patrol Council's
union local in Tucson.
The incident is being investigated by the Cochise County Sheriff's
Office and the FBI. Throughout Tuesday, agents and deputies combed
the area near the shooting site on horseback, all-terrain vehicles
and on foot. Helicopters were also sweeping over the hilltops.
Investigators have minimal information about the suspect or suspects,
Capas said.
The agents were assigned to the Naco station, which was recently
renamed in honor of Brian Terry, who was slain in a shootout with
border bandits in December 2010 near Nogales. That shooting was later
linked to the Fast and Furious gun-smuggling operation run by federal
agents in Phoenix.
Responding to a triggered sensor is a routine part of an agent's
daily shift, said del Cueto, the National Border Patrol Council's
union local president. Agents know by the location of a sensor
whether that place is usually used by drug traffickers or people
smugglers.
When they respond to a sensor, they're in a heightened state of
alert, del Cueto said.
Ivie is the 11th agent to die on duty in the Tucson Sector since
1924, and the first since agent Terry was killed in December 2010. He
is the third agent shot to death since Alexander Kirpnick was killed
northwest of Nogales in 1998.
The area of Tuesday's shooting is a traditional corridor for drug
smuggling, located as it is in a remote pocket between Bisbee, Naco,
Douglas and the border, said Lee Morgan II, who retired as a U.S.
Customs special agent in 2006 after spending decades in the area.
Area residents say the number of common illegal border crossers has
plummeted in that corridor since 2008, when the border fence there
was completed and the recession caused job opportunities to dwindle.
Fred Giacoletti's family homesteaded 800 acres in the area, about a
half mile from the border. He's noticed the number of regular illegal
immigrants decrease, but the drug smuggling activity has continued,
he said. He doesn't like it, but he's committed to the area.
"I could move my family any time, but I haven't been able to figure
out how to move these 800 acres, so I'm stuck here," he said.
Resident Cynthia Binyon lives near where agents were investigating
the shootings this morning. She said she feels safe living in the area.
"If somebody just killed a resident on Border Road, that would be a
whole different thing. But they (Border Patrol agents) are out there
encountering people," she said.
Note: reader of AZMEX reports may remember this one from 2010
Mexican Drug Cartels Threaten AZ Police Officers With Snipers
Joe Schoffstall
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 - 7:25am
Mexican drug cartels have emerged with a simple message to off-duty
Nogales, AZ police officers; while off-duty, if you happen to see
something fishy- don't try anything funny, because you will be the
target of sniper fire. This message is in retaliation to a recent
drug bust along the Nogales border. Two weeks ago off-duty officers
performed a bust while riding horse back. Later, the smugglers sent
the department the warning of possible sniper fire for further such
actions if performed again. Nogales Police Chief Jeff Kirkham told
the local ABC channel 9 that his officers can be targeted in a couple
of different ways. "Basically they could be targeted as far as
snipers on the other side of the border, or they could be assaulted
by armed means by smugglers coming across the border." They have
asked all the officers to be armed and ready at any given moment,
given the scarcity of their resources. "What we ask of our officers
is that if they do go out in that area that they do take precautions
and that they are armed." Due to severe budget cuts, the Nogales
police department lacks adequate resources to combat every threat.
Kirkham also believes the threats have only just begun. "I believe
the threats are going to continue, they're going to become more
serious, our officers are going to be targeted."
Border Patrol agent shot and killed
Update
By Trisha Maldonado
Douglas Dispatch
Published/Last Modified on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 2:05 PM MDT
http://www.douglasdispatch.com/articles/2012/10/02/news/breaking_news/
doc506b1422f048a977557479.txt
A Border Patrol agent was shot and killed and another sustained non-
life threating wounds early Tuesday morning.
Border Patrol Agent Nicolas Ivie, 30, was killed after he and two
other agents responded to a sensor hit near mile maker 352 on Highway
80, 15 miles west of Douglas.
Agent Ivie was a native of Provo, Utah and joined the U.S. Border
Patrol in January 2008.
The other unidentified Border Patrol agent sustained non-life
threatening wounds and was airlifted to a local hospital. He is
reported in stable condition at this time.
"As they (agents) were walking up the trail, they reported taking
gunfire," Cochise County Sheriff's spokeswomen Carol Capas said. "We
have unknown suspect or suspects at this point."
The incident investigation is being led by the Cochise County
Sheriff's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Authorities are urging members of the public to report any activity
they may have seen, and be on the lookout for anything suspicious by
calling 1-877-872-7435 toll free.
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