Border Unit Wounds Two Suspects

Two suspected Mexican border bandits were wounded Tuesday night by the Border Crimes Prevention Unit, a special task force of San Diego police and Border Patrol agents.

The shooting occurred at 7:24 p.m. near the so-called Soccer Field, police said. The Soccer Field, a hilltop staging area for hundreds of aliens who attempt to make their way north every night, is about 300 yards inside U.S. territory and is just northwest of Tijuana Airport.

Details about the incident were sketchy Tuesday night, but Norman Greene, a spokesman for Mercy Hospital, said that two men were airlifted by Life Flight helicopter to Mercy, suffering from gunshot wounds. One was listed in critical condition with two wounds in the back and one in the lower left leg.

The second man was in satisfactory condition with wounds to the right buttocks and left thigh. No identification was given for the two suspects, whom Greene and police described as Mexican nationals in their 20s.

Border Patrol spokesman Ed Pyeatt said the shooting began when officers and agents came across three men they suspected of robbing illegal aliens. Late Tuesday night it was not known if the third suspect escaped or was in custody. It was also not known if the suspects were armed.

A Border Patrol helicopter flew San Diego Police Department homicide investigators to the scene and more details about the shootings are expected to be released today.