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SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) A hiker was shot and robbed by “suspected cartel members” Wednesday while exploring an area along the edge of San Diego and Imperial counties near the U.S.-Mexico border with a group, U.S. Border Patrol El Centro Sector officials said on social media.
In a release on Thursday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the hiker, who is a U.S. citizen, was with another hiker in the group, a Canadian citizen, when the shooting and robbery took place in the Jacumba Mountains Wilderness, a federally-maintained desert area along the border in inland Southern California.
According to CBP, the two hikers were approached by two armed individuals, who commanded them to walk towards them. When they refused, the suspects reportedly opened fire on the hikers, hitting the U.S. citizen in his leg.
The suspects then walked towards the two, stealing their cell phones and backpacks, CBP said.
Border Patrol agents were dispatched to “rescue the hikers, evaluate them, and neutralize any threats” after CBP received a call of assistance from the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office around 11 a.m. to respond to the incident.
The El Centro Sector’s post, which had an accompanying video, appears to show the hiker being airlifted by CBP from where the shooting occurred.
The injured hiker was carried to the CBP helicopter by Border Patrol agents after they responded to the scene. According to CBP, he was then transported to a nearby medical aircraft, which flew him to a local hospital for treatment.
Neither suspect were taken into custody by Border Patrol. CBP says both were tracked back to the border, where they crossed into Mexico.
It is unclear whether the shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism, although CBP and Border Patrol has described the suspects as “terrorists” likely in reference to President Donald Trump’s recent executive order designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
“These cartels think they can bring their war to American soil,” the post from the U.S. Border Patrol El Centro Sector read. “The American people will not retreat from this kind of terror.”
FOX 5/KUSI reached out to the Imperial County Sheriff’s Department for more information on the shooting, but did not receive a response.