US Border Patrol shoots, kills bandit robbing migrants in California
Armed bandits robbing migrants at the southern border (USBP Chief Jason Owens)
Border patrol agents in California shot and killed a bandit who was robbing other migrants as they crossed into the U.S. from Mexico.
Multiple U.S. Customs and Border Protection sources confirmed that a criminal migrant who crossed the border in the San Diego sector was shot and killed by a member of the Border Patrol’s elite Border Patrol Tactical unit, or BORTAC, early Sunday morning.
The incident happened in a remote area where the bandits had been seen crossing into the U.S., robbing migrants and returning to Mexico.
Border Patrol agents responded to "bandit activity" on Sunday morning, when they came across a small group of bandits who were robbing migrants as they were walking to an area where migrants surrender to agents so they can be processed.
‘ARMED BANDITS’ ROB MIGRANTS CROSSING CALIFORNIA BORDER ILLEGALLY
One of the bandits was shot and killed while the others returned to Mexico. None of the Border Patrol agents were harmed during the encounter.
The 26th Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, Jason Owens, shared images of armed bandits on Feb. 26, 2024, on the social media platform X.
"USBP surveillance technology near Chula Vista, CA captured these images of armed bandits robbing several groups as they attempted to enter the country illegally," the chief posted. "Yet another example of the dangers these criminals & smugglers pose to the public, the migrants and our agents."
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Owens posted last week that so far this fiscal year, Border Patrol has apprehended over 890,000 immigrants and has had more than 120,000 known "gotaways."
He recently revealed that agents have caught nearly 180 illegal immigrants with gang affiliations so far this year. The gangs, including Paisas and MS-13, are involved with murder, extortion, narcotics, weapons/human trafficking and prostitution, Owens wrote on X.
Owens also wrote that in fiscal year 2024, Border Patrol has apprehended more than 6,400 subjects with criminal convictions.
Asylum-seeking migrants wait to be processed by the U.S. Border Patrol after crossing the nearby border with Mexico near the Jacumba Hot Springs on December 18, 2023 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)
It comes as more than 21,000 Chinese citizens have already been apprehended in the Border Patrol's San Diego Sector alone during the 2024 fiscal year, sparking national security concerns.
Nearly 7.3 million migrants have illegally crossed the southwest border under President Biden's watch, a number greater than the population of 36 individual states, a Fox News analysis found.
Fox News Digital's Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.