SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — A group of American hikers was “brutally attacked and strafed with gunfire” on Wednesday in the Jacumba Wilderness area, U.S. Border Patrol officials said.
Greg Bovino, chief patrol agent of the Border Patrol’s El Centro Sector said the lone victim was shot twice and robbed. The others in the group were not harmed.
“These cartels think they can bring their war to American soil. Think again!” said Bovino, who posted video of the rescue on X.
He goes on to say this is a “WARNING” that the El Centro Sector will not stand idly by.
“The safety of our citizens is not negotiable, cartel terrorists have no place in our country preying on the innocent,” Bovino said. “Enough is enough.”
The incident happened about 70 miles east of San Diego. Agents with the Border Patrol Tactical Unit, or BORTAC, responded and lent medical aid to the injured hiker.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter flew in to take the wounded hiker to the hospital.
“The American people will not retreat from this kind of terror,” Bovino said.
The condition of the hiker has not been make public, nor the name of the medical facility where he was taken.
Border Patrol officials said some agents responded to the area and found the group of hikers, including a man who had been shot in the right leg.
San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies also responded.
The agents are said to have carried the wounded man to an area where the helicopter could land and then take him to the hospital.
Border Patrol says it is still conducting an investigation in the incident.
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