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Two Assailants Shot and Robbed Hikers Near the U.S. Border in California

The hiker was airlifted out. Photo: U.S. Border Patrol


The Inertia

A group of hikers recreating in California’s Imperial County near the Mexican border were targeted by what Border Patrol called “suspected cartel members” on January 22. One hiker was wounded by a gunshot and later extricated by helicopter. 

The incident happened around 11 a.m. on the 22nd when two armed assailants approached the group of hikers and demanded they approach them. When the hikers did not comply, they indiscriminately opened fire at the group, hitting one hiker twice in the leg. The assailants took the backpacks and cell phones of the injured hiker and a Canadian citizen – who stayed behind to assist the wounded hiker – before retreating south across the border.

The attack took place in the Jacumba Wilderness 1,000 feet north of the international border near the trailhead for a hiking area called “Valley of the Moon.” It’s a remote area with rough, high-desert terrain that doesn’t have a physical barrier marking the border.

“A group of U.S. citizens hiking in the Jacumba Wilderness in California was brutally attacked and strafed with gunfire by suspected cartel members in El Centro Sector’s area of responsibility,” U.S. Border Patrol’s El Centro Sector said in its Facebook post, which showed the victim being carried to the helicopter. “One victim was shot twice and robbed. These cartels think they can bring their war to American soil.”

As per the last update by Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino of the El Centro Sector Border Patrol on January 25, the condition of the injured hiker is unclear. He also confirmed that the two assailants were known to authorities and that the agency is working with its Mexican counterparts to apprehend them. 

Since the shooting, more agents have been deployed to the Valley of the Moon area.

 
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