A Border Patrol agent with the Tucson Sector is recovering after being hit by a car and then dragged.

Agent Gus Soto said the incident happened shortly after 1 p.m. on Sunday on Highway 86 near Sahuarita Mountain Road.

Soto says the agent pulled over the vehicle, but when he approached the car, the driver drove off, hitting the agent and dragging him.

“The vehicle abruptly left the scene, striking our agent. Other agents in the area followed the vehicle, where it made another attempt to assault one of our agents and shots were fired,” Soto said.

Soto says no one was injured as a result of the shots being fired.

Agents arrested a man and a woman, both U.S. citizens, and both believed to be smugglers. Agents also took five illegal immigrants, all adults, into custody.

Attacks on agents in the Tucson Sector have increased by 100% since last year.

Soto said, “We’ve seen everything from large rebar ties that are thrown at us and we see agents being shot at from illegal aliens.”

Soto says violence has escalated due to increased border enforcement.

“We’re striving to gain control of an area, maintain control of an area, and then slowly control that area to our farthest reaches,” Soto said.

The Tucson Sector has approximately 2,400 agents covering 262 miles from the New Mexico/Arizona state line west to the Yuma County line.

Soto says agent safety is paramount; all agents undergo 20 weeks of training and are issued bulletproof vests.

The two U.S. citizens arrested will likely face charges including assault on a federal agent and illegal alien smuggling.

The case will be handled by the U.S. Attorney’s office.

kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=4777120&nav=HMO6HMaW

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