Border Shootout Under Investigation

We expect to learn more today about a shootout between drug runners and U.S. authorities near Chimney Park south of Mission.

Dozens of Texas state game wardens descended on Chimney Park along with Border Patrol agents and Texas Rangers. They saturated the area after a shootout between game wardens and drug smugglers.

Authorities in Austin have released only basic information, saying a suspicious vehicle was spotted on the U.S. side of the river around 6 Thursday morning. They then saw two cartel drug recovery boats loaded with people and what appeared to be marijuana.

As they approached, that’s when gunfire broke out. Gunmen on the Mexican side opened fire on American boats. Game wardens aboard returned fire, injuring three of the smugglers.

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US Senator John Cornyn has also released a statement, saying, “Despite the repeated assurances of President Obama and Secretary Napolitano that our border is secure, [this] brazen attack on law enforcement provides further evidence for what Texans already know. Cartel-related violence along our border is real and escalating, and the Administration cannot continue to deny it when American lives–particularly those of our law enforcement–are directly in harm’s way.”

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