An investigation was underway on Tuesday near the United States’ border with Canada, where an agent was fatally shot “in the line of duty,” authorities said.
The fatal encounter unfolded Monday along Interstate 91 in Orleans County, a small community of 27,000 residents tucked away in the rural and remote Northeast Kingdom section of Vermont, just miles from the Derby Line–Rock Island Border Crossing, according to a news release from the Vermont State Police.
The suspect was also killed in the shooting, while a third was wounded and taken into custody, the FBI said in a statement. No charges have yet been announced and no further details have been provided.
The interstate was initially shut down in both directions as a result, though the northbound lane has since reopened.
The southbound lane meanwhile remains closed and is expected to be part of a “long-duration closure,” state police said.
The FBI said in its statement that it needed time to “gather evidence and process the scene,” adding: “While there is no threat to the public, Interstate 91 will remain closed due to investigative activity.”
The agent’s death on Monday was confirmed by the FBI and Benjamine Huffman, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in Washington.
Essex County Senator Russ Ingalls identified him as David Maland, according to My NBC 5. He’d been assigned to U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Swanton Sector, which covers parts of Vermont, New York and New Hampshire, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“Every single day, our Border Patrol agents put themselves in harm’s way so that Americans and our homeland are safe and secure,” Huffman said. “My prayers and deepest condolences are with our department, the agent’s family, loved ones, and colleagues.”
Vermont’s Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Peter Welch and Rep. Becca Balint similarly sent condolences to the agent’s family in a joint statement and said Border Patrol agents “deserve our full support in terms of staffing, pay and working conditions.”
With News Wire Services
