Feds Arrest 3 Connected With Border Patrol Killing
Updated 6:00 PM PST, Fri, Jul 24, 2009
Three people in connection with the Thursday killing of a Border Patrol agent in San Diego County were arrested at O'Connor Hospital in San Jose Friday.
Agents with the Department of Homeland Security surrounded the hospital and arrested two men and one woman.
At least one suspect wanted for the murder of a U.S. Border Patrol agent was reportedly injured during the attack and may seek medical attention on either side of the U.S.-Mexico border, authorities said Friday. Authorities said they traced the cell phone of one of the people arrested.
Investigators checked hospitals and medical facilities in hopes of finding whoever shot and killed Agent Robert Wimer Rosas, 30, late Thursday, said Keith Slotter, special agent in charge with the FBI's San Diego bureau.
Rosas spotted a suspicious group in the remote Campo area near the Mexican border Thursday night and called for backup, according to Border Patrol spokesman Daryl Reed. When the suspicious group split up, Rosas went after some suspects by himself. Other agents lost radio contact with him.
Around 9 p.m., the other agents heard gunshots and found the agent. Rosas was pronounced dead at the scene at about 9:15 p.m. on Shockey Truck Trail in Campo, Battalion Chief Nick Schuler said.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department said Rosas was shot in the head.
Rosas was 30-years-old and had served with the Border Patrol for the past three years. He is survived by his wife, 2-year-old son and 11-month-old daughter.
Rep. Darrell Issa issued a statement Friday about Rosa's slaying.
"What happened last night was a tragedy and a painful acknowledgment that at any time, our Border Patrol agents may be put into an extraordinary circumstance," Issa said. "The thoughts and prayers of our entire region are with the family and friends of this fallen agent.”
A search on both sides of the border after the killing failed to find anyone.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC Bay Area
First Published: Jul 24, 2009 5:40 PM PST
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