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Subscribe to RSSSources have told NBC news that the shooting at the Mexico border near Naco, Ariz., that killed border patrol agent Nicolas Ivie and wounded two others involved friendly fire. NBC's Mark Potter reports.
Investigators say that the Border Patrol shooting that left one agent dead was likely the result of three agents all responding separately to a tripped sensor on the U.S.-Mexico border, and unknowingly shooting at one another in the dark, according to several reports.
The reports offer more detail on how Tuesday's incident unfolded. Agent Nicholas J. Ivie, 33, was killed and a second agent was wounded in a rugged area known for drug and human smuggling.
According to Cochise County acting Sheriff Rod Rothrock, the three agents were patrolling on horseback along several miles of the U.S.-Mexico border when all responded to the tripped sensor.
George McCubbin, president of the National Border Patrol Council, a union representing agents, said all three agents fired their weapons.
McCubbin told The Arizona Republic that the agents had split up as they investigated the sensor alarm. In the darkness between 1 and 2 a.m., the three converged from different directions into a saddle in the hills where the brush is relatively thick, Saturday’s Los Angeles Times reported, citing McCubbin.
Gabriel Guerrero / AP file
Law enforcement forces gather at a command post in the desert near Naco, Ariz. Tuesday after a border patrol agent was shot to death near the U.S.-Mexico line.
The agents had been in communication earlier, and were aware of each other’s presence in the area, according to Rothrock. It was not clear why they didn’t talk when converging on the target area.
McCubbin told the Times, "Maybe they tried to reach each other but couldn’t. They have lots of dead spots in the desert."
Ivie was about 20 yards away from the other two agents when they apparently spotted each other, and started trading fire.
Ivie "interpreted defensive postures from the other as aggressive postures," Rothrock said.
Cole Kynaston / AP
Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Ivie, who was was shot and killed in a rugged border area on Tuesday, in an undated photo.
In the exchange of fire, Ivie was killed, and a second agent whose name has not been released was shot in the buttocks and the ankle. He was treated and is reportedly recovering at home. A third agent, who also remains unnamed, was unharmed.
A high-powered rifle and a handgun were found near the shooting scene, the Times reported, citing government documents. It was not clear whether they were connected to the incident.
State and federal officials initially said that the shootings were committed by armed criminals.
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**Border closing
Closing the border would prevent $Billions of drugs from entering the US. Without this source of income the Cartels would shrink enabling Mexican law enforcement to clean up the remnants. A safe Mexico would boom tourism benefitting Mexican citizens, (BTW: they are more family-oriented, hard working then Americans. Maybe we can trade the 47% of our democrat citizens on the public dole for equal amount of Mexican citizens.) Of course drying up Cartel drug money would be a negative to officials on both sides of the border taking bribes. Also baby-boomers would have a hard time obtaining their cocaine.
Half or better of the 47% that you talk of are Republicans. Retard
Working in a Government Department anyone can tell you is a lesson in F.T.C. (Failure To Communicate). Most of the time it is annoying but harmless, there are times one is willing to strangle someone but most of the time it is pretty safe. HOWEVER There are some Field Jobs....... My condolences to the VICTIMS families, your loss is deeply realized.
I live in the area where this occurred. I'm getting many different stories. Even from BP agents. I came on the vine to find out what happened. There are people on here that live states away, but know all about it. If they don't KNOW, they just make something up.
They need to start requiring an IQ test for people carrying guns for a living. Oh yeah, I forgot, they won't hire anyone with over 100 IQ for law enforcement.
This is what happens when you have too many guns and badges.
This is what happens when you don't have enough guns and badges. If we had cops stationed close togather all along the border, we could close it.
Do you think they might of tried to identify themselves before opening fire? What if it were just a woman and her children slipping across the border? Would they still think it was OK to shoot without verification of what they were shooting at? This policy of shoot first and identify the threat later is getting out of hand. I guess they are afraid of running up against the weapons that they supplied to the drug cartels during Fast and Furious. Now they're shooting each other. Go figure.
Gee, will we ever hear from the ones that survived or will they be shipped off to the mideast never to hear from again?
"A cover up" sure just like the 7.8 that is driving you over the political cliff.
Problems such as this are easily resolved. One put businesses that hire "undocumented" works completely out of business, don't just give them a light slap on their check book. Two, find out why so many people need to get loaded to get through their days. We use more illegal drugs and abuse more prescription drugs then any other country, bad news.
Obama 2012
I suppose it was only a matter of time, some officers are so trigger happy these days. It takes a 5 minute internet search to find cases after case where officers opened up on someone who was unarmed and had no criminal history or illegal items. Of course in those cases they can usually blame it on the victim, claiming they "went for something" or "tried to grab my gun". In this case however they can't because that would put the blame on another officer. Don't get me wrong, most officers are "ok", but they sadly cover for the ones who treat the streets like their own little theifdom.
I would rather an American citizen kill ten innocent(in the middle of the desert at night?)mexicans than wait the extra second and take a chance with his life.
(Quote) MOmaid
Ed--sorry, but you are also taught that in a hostile situation, you shoot first and ask questions later.
'Boot Hill' is full of folks that waited until the other guy fired first. (end quote)
And courts are where those practicing your method will wind up. If your idea of proper threat suppression is "Hose 'em and Hope", you need to find another line of work.
Try that in a REAL "hostile" situation (not your first person shooter - online game) and you'll be facing charges for killing civilians, or shooting your fellow soldier/officer.
Sense when is a tripped sensor a hostile situation? The only thing hostile here was the cops shooting at each other.
When/If your firearm leaves its holster, you have perceived yourself to be in a hostile situation.
(or you're a contract security guard practicing his 'quick draw' in the men's room....lots of bathroom walls shot that way)
This is just another cover-up, Obama already has too much bad news to deal with.
This version of events is a bold-faced lie and we know it...and MSNBC knows it...and the govt. knows it...and anyone with a seventh grade education or higher knows it... They messed up when they proclaimed initially that the Mexican govt had already arrested two suspects within hours of the shootings. I hate what has become of our govt and our country. And it is quite apparent to this non-affiliated voter that it is by far the liberal democratic left that will lie, cheat and steal the most.
Great reporting as usual from msnbc,they say this is how it "likely happened" meaning they dont have a clue but report what they think could have happened.Why not just say alien's did it,more believable.
Are we living in N. Korea or China where the government spews this kind of propagandist crap?
Border "protection" by Larry, Moe, and Curly.
You people who are screaming cover-up by Obama need to get back on your meds. Freaks.
Wait a second. Mexican Law Enforcement arrested the killers last week.
Just glad they shot each other instead of innocent civilians trigger happy morons!
Seems to me that one of these boys was a 'double agent' on the take...and it wasn't the dead one! I read this article over and over, and nowhere in it could I ascertain credible information or facts as to what really happened. There is something criminally amiss in the hills of SE Arizona
Ah yes, the Mexicans were quick to react by 'rounding up the usual suspects'.
How about coordination?Maybe get some of those new fangled phones I hear tell about
I kept looking for a link to this story on Fox News but couldn't find anything. Even searching on the term "Friendly Fire" didn't get a hit. Finally searching for the agents name turned up the report on their site. I guess they wanted to ignore it after running big headlines about the shooting when they were assuming it was a story about Mexico border violence and really, really hoping the gun was from Fast and Furious. Evidently if the news doesn't fit your narrative, it's better to ignore it.
Come on, don't you see it?
They were gentlemen and left the women agent behind, while they went ahead in searching. At one point she got scared of noises and start shooting, killing one and hurting (from the back) the other.
I am not familiar with Border Patrol procedures but this just seems like very sloppy police work. I am employed as a military security policeman and have responded to alarms at night in the wee hours of the morning. We commonly use two to four man fire teams, but we would have sent one man to check the sensor, another guy would have provided over watch for the first guy, and the third man would have remained mounted to provide backup and/or be a pursuit unit as needed. As far as communications go; radio's are indeed unreliable, our radios barely work across base or around buildings, and any hill will block them. But this "lets split up and approach from different directions in the dark" is just crazy; its like they are using a SOP from a cheap horror movie (you know the ones where a group of people are being chased by a madman but instead of working together they split up and get picked off one by one). In the immortal words of Pogo "We have met the enemy and he is us".
They found a rifle and pistols at the scene?
Who do the belong to?
The rifle and pistol belong to Eric Holder, silly.