Authorities investigating the shooting death of a Border Patrol agent on Monday say a German national in the U.S. on a “current visa” was also killed in the exchange of gunfire. A third person was injured and is being treated at an area hospital after being taken into custody, the FBI said.
U.S. Border Patrol Agent David “Chris” Maland was involved in a traffic stop on Interstate 91 southbound in Coventry around 3:15 p.m., the FBI said.
During the traffic stop, “an exchange of gunfire occurred,” the FBI said, and Maland was struck and killed. The German national, whose name has not been released, also died.
Maland was a U.S. Air Force veteran.
The FBI Albany office says it has dozens of agents in the area and is working with state and local law enforcement in an "extremely active," investigation.
Authorities have not released any other details about the incident.
“I want to extend my heartfelt condolences to agent Maland’s friends, family and colleagues,” Gov. Phil Scott said during his weekly press conference Tuesday afternoon.
The shooting in the Northeast Kingdom came just a few hours after President Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term. Trump declared a national emergency this week that will allow for an increased military presence on the southern border.
Scott said Tuesday that he’d welcome additional federal resources on Vermont's border with Canada.
“I think we’ve been interacting with our partners, northern border partners over the last few months, and I think there is a need for more resources. They certainly have suggested that,” Scott said. “So hopefully they will get the federal support they need from the federal entities that actually enforce the border.”
Maland's death was the first killing of a Border Patrol agent in the line of duty since Javier Vega Jr. was shot and killed near Santa Monica, Texas, in 2014, according to records provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Vega was initially considered to be off duty at the time of his death, but in 2016 it was re-determined to have been in the line of duty, the agency said.
In 2010, Brian Terry’s killing exposed the botched federal gun operation known as “Fast and Furious." Border Patrol Agent Nicholas J. Ivie, of the Brian A. Terry Border Patrol Station, was mortally wounded in the line of duty in a remote area near Bisbee, Arizona, in 2012. Border Patrol Agent Isaac Morales was fatally stabbed while off duty in 2017 in Texas.
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. The sector reported that agents apprehended 19,385 subjects from 97 countries during fiscal year 2024.
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.
Vermont Public staffers Sophie Stephens and Zoe McDonald contributed to this report. Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
