A shooting broke out in a remote part of the US border over the weekend, leaving one person dead.
The incident occurred Sunday morning in San Diego County, in what authorities said was a criminal enterprise trying to rob a group of illegal aliens, the Los Angeles Times reports.
A member of the Border Patrol's elite Border Patrol Tactical Team, or BORTAC, killed one of the violent illegal aliens on U.S. soil while the rest fled back to Mexico. The area is a center of criminal activity involving bandits who cross the border to rob illegal aliens before escaping back into Mexico.
National Border Patrol Council Chairman Brandon Judd described the incident as a "gun war" during an interview Monday and said the bandits, whom he described as a "rag crew," were more aggressive in their attacks. They had become shameless, that is why special operators were in the area.
"They're doing it right in front of our cameras," Judd said. “We have several incidents where rip crews are robbing and stealing from migrants right on camera.”
US Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens shared photos on Twitter last week showing groups of bandits robbing illegal aliens at the US border.
"USBP surveillance technology near Chula Vista, CA captured these images of armed bandits robbing several groups as they attempted to enter the country illegally," they wrote. “Another example of the danger these criminals and smugglers pose to the public, migrants and our agents.”