Border Patrol, CBP Lead Arizona Police to Suspected School Shooter

Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents and a CBP Air and Marine Operations aircrew guided local police officers to the location of a suspected school shooter this week.

Yuma Police Department officers responded to a shooting at Gila Ridge High School on Monday, 12NewsNBC reported. Officials say two students were injured in the incident but were not shot.

An aircrew from the Yuma Air Branch of Air and Marine Operations immediately responded to provide aerial surveillance of the scene, according to a tweet from Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz.

The aircrew identified fresh footprints leading away from the school. They guided a Yuma Station Border Patrol agent to the area.

The agent found the tracks and reported they led to a nearby industrial area. Yuma police officers responded to the industrial area and quickly found the alleged shooter, a statement from Border Patrol officials stated.

“These are the situations we train for, to be able to respond immediately to incidents of dire urgency,” stated Douglas Murray, Director of Yuma Air Branch, “Our crews regularly partner with U.S. Border Patrol in situations like this to increase (the) effectiveness in stopping potentially violent threats.”

The incident illustrates the additional law enforcement resources that are made available to local officials during a crisis.

A Yuma Police Department spokesman told reporters, “Nobody was actually shot in this incident; shots were fired in the parking lot, not in the school.”

Officials temporarily shut down the Gila Ridge High School campus. The lockdown ended after the quick apprehension of the shooter.

Police officials identified the suspected shooter as a 16-year-old boy, KOLD 13News reported. The two boys were reportedly injured in a fight and were not shot by the suspect.

The investigation into the shooting continues.