A U.S. Border Patrol agent was shot and killed in the line of duty in Coventry on Monday afternoon, authorities said. Another person was also killed in the incident, according to the FBI, while a third person was injured and taken into custody.
The incident occurred at 3:15 p.m. along Interstate 91, roughly 20 miles from the Canadian border. A Customs and Border Protection spokesperson confirmed the agent’s death. The FBI said Monday night that “there is no threat to the public.”
Authorities did not release the names of anyone involved.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to the family, friends, and coworkers of our fallen brother in green in Vermont,” the Border Patrol’s national union said in a statement released on X.
The shooting came hours after President Donald Trump delivered an inaugural address in which he declared a “national emergency,” at the southern border and a broader crackdown on people living in the country without legal status.
Both lanes of Interstate 91 were closed for several hours after the shooting.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Swanton sector covers 295 miles of the northern border in Vermont and New Hampshire and eastern New York. Border Patrol officials say illegal border crossings in the sector in recent years have shattered previous records.
Border Patrol agents work closely with state and local law enforcement in Vermont and are routinely seen working many miles from the international boundary. The agency claims the right to patrol within 100 miles of the border. Especially in more remote regions, border patrol agents routinely assist local police and other emergency personnel.
“Every single day, our Border Patrol agents put themselves in harm’s way so that Americans and our homeland are safe and secure,” Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Benjamine Huffman said. “My prayers and deepest condolences are with our Department, the Agent’s family, loved ones, and colleagues.”
The three members of Vermont's congressional delegation — Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Peter Welch and Rep. Becca Balint — offered condolences to the agent's family and to the Border Patrol in a joint statement Monday night.
"Border Patrol agents do important work protecting our borders," Sanders, Welch and Balint said. "They deserve our full support in terms of staffing, pay and working conditions. 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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