Two Aliens Shot by Special Border Patrol Unit

Two illegal aliens were shot by members of the Border Crime Prevention Unit early Friday after one of the men opened fire on the officers near the border, according to the U.S. Border Patrol.

Juan Perez was listed in critical condition Friday at UC San Diego Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the abdomen, according to Eileen Callahan, a hospital spokeswoman. The other man, who was unidentified Friday, was in fair condition with gunshot wounds to the face, neck and arms, she said.

None of the border officers was injured.

The Border Crime Prevention Unit--a combination of San Diego police officers and U.S. Border Patrol agents--was patrolling about a mile east of the San Ysidro port of entry when they heard shots fired from the nearby Spring Canyon area, according to Ed Pyeatt, Border Patrol spokesman.

The officers “separated into two teams, of three or four to a team, with one team taking up residence on the mesa and the other team staking out the soccer field below,” Pyeatt said.

As the agents on the mesa surveyed the area to determine where the shots came from, an illegal alien approached the team and told officers that he, his sister and another man were heading north when two men robbed them and abducted the man’s sister, Pyeatt said.

As the officers spoke to the man, two other men approached and questioned the officers briefly, Pyeatt said. Then one of the men drew a .22-caliber revolver and told the officers to lie on the ground, according to Bill Robinson, San Diego police spokesman.

The assailant and the officers fired at one another simultaneously, the officers hitting the man several times, Robinson said. The assailant was “three or four feet” from the officers when he opened fire, Pyeatt said.

The other assailant fled south toward the soccer field, where he encountered the other team of officers, who twice ordered him to halt, Pyeatt said, adding that the man turned and appeared “to make an overt move. He raised his arm as to fire a weapon.”

Officials fired at the man, striking him in the abdomen, Robinson said. A knife was found at the scene, he added.

The woman who allegedly was abducted had not been found by late Friday, Pyeatt said, adding that an investigation is continuing. She may have fled the area, Robinson said.

Robinson said the two illegal aliens may be charged with attempted murder.