Border Patrol agent killed Uvalde shooter, but special unit has recent history of excessive force
Multiple outlets are reporting that a Border Patrol agent shot and killed the Uvalde shooter Tuesday. That agent was reportedly part of an elite militarized unit.
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Multiple outlets are reporting that a Border Patrol agent part of a special unit rushed in to Robb Elementary School on Tuesday, May 24, to shoot and kill the 18-year-old shooter that killed 19 children and two teachers. That same special unit has recently been accused of using violent tactics and committing human rights violations.
The Border Patrol agent reportedly entered the school without waiting for backup and shot and killed the gunman, Salvador Ramos, AP reported, and he was injured in the process. U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz confirmed that agents in the area responded to the shooting on Twitter.
That agent belongs to a special tactical unit of the U.S. Border Patrol dubbed BORTAC, according to Houston news station KPRC 2. It’s the same unit that was deployed to Portland, Oregon during the 2020 George Floyd Protests by then President Donald Trump, over 2,000 miles north of the Mexico border.
What is BORTAC?
- BORTAC stands for Border Patrol Tactical Unit, according to this one-sheet from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
- The unit provides “an immediate response” to high-risk incidents requiring “specialized skills and tactics.”
- The unit is headquartered in El Paso.
- It was created in 1984 to respond to “rioting” at immigrant detention facilities.
- The unit has evolved into a global militaristic response unit, being deployed on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- BORTAC has been likened to elite military units like the Navy SEALs.
Unmarked vans and human rights violations
It’s not immediately clear why Border Patrol agents, or BORTAC for that matter, were in the Uvalde area at the time. Uvalde is about 75 miles from the border with Mexico.
