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David “Chris” Maland, the Border Patrol agent killed Monday, was shot while conducting a traffic stop in a Vermont town near the Canadian border, according to the FBI’s latest update on the case.
Federal law enforcement officials said Tuesday that a German national who was in the U.S. on a current visa also died from the shootout and that a third individual was injured and is being treated at a hospital.
The FBI said that its investigation is “extremely active.”
Paul Perez, the president of the Border Patrol Union, said in a Fox News interview that Maland was responding to intelligence.
“[Homeland Security Investigations] was involved. This was…I don’t want to say a targeted operation, but it wasn’t random,” he said, referring to the agency that investigates the illegal movement of people, goods and contraband in the U.S.
Maland, an Air Force veteran, was a security officer at the Pentagon during the Sept. 11 attacks, his family told The Association Press.
“Every single day, our Border Patrol agents put themselves in harm’s way so that Americans and our homeland are safe and secure,” acting DHS secretary Benjamine Huffman said in a statement. “My prayers and deepest condolences are with our department, the agent’s family, loved ones and colleagues.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark E. Green, R-Tenn., expressed gratitude for Maland’s “nearly a decade of service protecting our communities in the force.”
“We must never forget that the men and women in green on the frontlines of this border crisis defend our homeland at great personal cost,” he said in a statement. “Far too often these courageous public servants, like Agent Maland, pay the ultimate price.”
Vermont’s congressional delegation — independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democrats Sen. Peter Welch and Rep. Becca Balint — also expressed their “deepest condolences.”
“Border Patrol agents do important work protecting our borders. They deserve our full support in terms of staffing, pay and working conditions,” they said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the agency to make sure that they have all the resources they need to do the enormously important work that is their responsibility. Together, we must do everything possible to prevent future tragedies like what happened today.”
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