Slain Border Agent Identified: Nicolas Ivie ‘Ambushed’, Gunned Down Near Arizona Border
By on October 2, 2012
Officials have confirmed that the Border Patrol agent that was shot and killed early this morning is 30-year-old Nicholas J. Ivie.
Ivie was killed after he and two other agents responded to an unusual sensor reading near Highway 80 about 7 miles east of Bisbee, according to Border Patrol officials.
Ivie was patrolling the area with a pair of agents after being alerted that a sensor had been tripped, according to Cochise County Sheriff’s Commander Marc Denney. Denney told the Los Angeles Times that agents were ambushed. The agents radioed that they had come under fire, he said, attacked by three or four people who appear to have fled on foot into the rocky hills.
It was not clear whether the agents returned fire, and Border Patrol spokesmen declined to provide more details about the shooting. By the time deputies responded, the gunmen had disappeared, Denney said. ”Whether they were picked up in another vehicle is unknown,” Denney said, adding that the gunmen had ample time to flee and hide. “They had a bit of a jump on us.” Denney said the motive for the shooting was still “highly unknown.”
In an official news release, Customs and Border Protection officials confirmed the identity of the agent killed as Ivie, who has been with Border Patrol since January 2008. He is a native of Provo, Utah.
“First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with Agent Ivie’s family during this terrible time,” said Jeffrey D. Self, commander of the Joint Field Command – Arizona. “This is a tragic loss for Customs and Border Protection. We have an unwavering commitment to pursue and bring the perpetrators of this heinous act to justice.”...
Go read Governor Brewer's statement, and more, here.
ALWAYS remembered...