U.S. officials say the stretch of the U.S. Mexico border in Campo where a Border Patrol agent was shot to death Thursday night has not seen a lot of smuggling activity recently. The agent was shot while on patrol.
Border Patrol officials say agent Robert Rosas was shot in the head at least once while responding to a call about a group of people who were supposedly sneaking across the border. Officials say other agents in the area heard shots and raced to Rosas. He died there.
Richard Barlow is a chief agent with the Border Patrol. He says Rosas, who was married and had two babies, was with the Border Patrol for three years. "And unfortunately, it's a harsh reminder of how dangerous our job is."
FBI officials say they're nearly certain the attackers came from Mexico and the murder was not a hit on the agent. It's not clear if the group Rosas was after was smuggling drugs or people. FBI officials would not say what kind of gun was used in the attack or if Rosas fired his gun. They say one or more of the gunmen was injured and authorities are checking hospitals on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
