CBP: Smuggler threw 'football-sized' rock at agent

Posted Jan 26, 2016

Paul Ingram
TucsonSentinel.com

Paul Ingram/TucsonSentinel.comIn November 2014, a Border Patrol agent at the Nogales station holds a rock to demonstrate the dangers of rock-throwing.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent was injured when a suspected smuggler threw a "football-sized" rock at him in the hills near Nogales early Monday morning, authorities said.

Around 2 a.m., agents responded to a report that five men were carrying large backpacks in a remote mountainous area near the Arizona border city.

With help from a helicopter crew with the Office of Air and Marine and remote surveillance cameras, agents located the men. As the agents approached, the group split in multiple directions, according to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

As one agent came within 10 feet of one of the men, the suspected smuggler threw a "football-sized rock at him," CBP officials said.

Although the agent was injured, he was able to arrest the suspected smuggler without further incident, said CBP.

The agency did not describe the agent's injuries, however, according to the release the injured agent "is recovering."

Agents apprehended three men and seized an estimated 150 pounds of marijuana worth around $75,000. The men, all Mexican nationals, will be held pending prosecution, said CBP.