Updated Dec 7, 2014, 4:14 pm Originally posted Dec 7, 2014, 3:36 pm
A Border Patrol agent assigned to the Ajo Border Station was assaulted on the Tohono O'odham Nation on Saturday.
The agent was responding to a call in the area near Gu Vo, west of Sells, when he was attacked by a man with a rock, according to an agency source not authorized to speak to the media.
The reason for the initial call has not been released, and the source did not provide the agent's name.
The agent attempted to defend himself using his baton and pepper spray, but suffered cuts to his face and an orbital bone fracture, requiring 22 stitches, the source said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed the incident with a short news release following TucsonSentinel.com's report.
The agent was airlifted to a Tucson hospital, but has since been released, both the agency and the source said.
A person of interest has been identified as Carlos Manuel Pena-Nieblas, a Mexican national. The search for the alleged assailant is ongoing and the FBI is investigating the incident.
1 comment on this story
The agent should have shot his assailant with a gun. A rock is a deadly weapon. It can kill. Responding with deadly force is not only legal, it is logical…no matter how many open border whiny crybabies might try to tell you otherwise.