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One Border Patrol Agent Killed, Another Shot In Arizona

By: Mark Memmott // October 2, 2012
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A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent was shot and killed this morning while on duty near Bisbee, Ariz., the Department of Homeland Security tells The Associated Press and other news outlets.

Another agent was shot and wounded, AP says.

According to KPHO-TV in Phoenix, "both agents worked out of the Brian Terry station in the Tucson sector."

That station, as ABC15 in Phoenix reminds us, was "renamed in the honor of an agent who was killed in the line of duty in December 2010." Two of the weapons found at the scene of Terry's death were traced to the "Fast and Furious" program run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The program allowed guns to go south of the border in a botched attempt to track drug cartel kingpins.

We'll update with news about today's shootings.

Update at 1 p.m. ET. Agents Were On Horseback:

According to the Arizona Republic, "three agents were on horseback about 7 miles east of Bisbee and 8 to 10 miles north of the border and responding to a ground sensor that had triggered, said George McCubbin, president of the National Border Patrol Council, a work union representing border agents called the National Border Patrol Council." The third agent was not injured.

McCubbin also said no suspects are yet in custody.

Update at 10:30 a.m. ET. Agents Were Investigating Movement:

KPHO-TV reports that "the agents were investigating a sensor that was triggered, indicating something that was moving across the area," according to "Carol Capas of the Cochise County Sheriff's Office, one of two investigating agencies."

Update at 9:30 a.m. ET. Other Agent's Wounds Not Life Threatening:

ABC15 now adds that Border Protection spokesman Brent Cagen says the second agent suffered "non-life threatening injuries."

Copyright 2012 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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