Shots fired near Border Patrol agents helping injured boy, officials say

Shots were fired near U.S. Border Patrol agents and first responders as they were helping an injured 4-year-old boy near the U.S.-Mexico border, federal officials said Friday. The incident happened about a half-mile east of the San Ysidro border crossing in San Diego on Monday night, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency.

The unidentified boy was dropped from a “primary border barrier” by someone entering the U.S. illegally, according to a Customs and Border Protection statement.

As Border Patrol agents helped the boy, shots rang out, the agency said.

“Agents reported hearing both the impact and ricochet of gunshots off of the secondary border barrier just north of their location,” the statement said.

The San Diego Fire Department and emergency medical services were on the scene, and the agents told everyone to take cover, according to the statement.

The gunshots are believed to have originated from the Mexican side of the border, Customs and Border Protection said.

In a separate incident Saturday night, a Border Patrol supervisor patrolling the San Ysidro Mountains near the border reported that he was “taking gunfire from an area southwest of his location,” officials said.

Surveillance camera operators saw several individuals just south of the border and one appeared to be carrying a rifle, according to the statement.

Both incidents are under investigation, and additional agents have been assigned to the area, according to the statement.

“We are taking these events very seriously and are working with law enforcement partners in the U.S. and Mexico to identify the source of the gunfire,” said Aaron Heitke, chief patrol agent for the San Diego sector.