A woman from the Washington state has been charged with the fatal shooting of a US border patrol agent during a road check at Vermont This happened a few days after the authorities began to monitor it as well as a German companion, also died in an exchange of fire on the highway, the FBI announced on Friday.
Teresa Youngblut, 21, faces two accusations related to weapons related to the death of the border patrol agent David Maland, 44, who died on Monday during the shooting in Coventry, a small town around 20 miles of the Canadian border.
According to an Affidavit of the FBI, a border agent arrested Youngblut and Felix Baukholt on the Interstate 91 because Baukholt seemed to have an expired visa. Youngblut, who led Baukholt’s car, was released and opened fire on Maland and other officers without summons, says the FBI. Baukholt tried to draw a firearm but was shot, indicates the affidavit.
At least one border agent shot Youngblut and Baukholt, but the authorities did not specify what bullets touched who.
“The events that led to these prosecution tragically demonstrate how men and women of the police regularly put their lives in danger while they are trying to ensure the security of our communities and our country,” said The acting American prosecutor Michael Drescher in a press release. “We intend to honor them, as well as the memory of the agent of the border patrol Maland, by performing our functions as a prosecutor so that justice is done.”
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Investigators were doing a “periodic surveillance” of Youngblut and Baukholt since January 14 after an employee of a hotel where they stayed had expressed concerns after seeing Youngblut carry a firearm and she and Baukholt carry equipment black tactics, according to the affidavit. Investigators tried to question the two men, who said they were in the region to buy a property, but refused to have a prolonged conversation, said the FBI.
About two hours before the shooting, the investigators saw Baukholt come out of a Walmart in Newport, just north of Coventry, with two packs of aluminum paper. According to the Affidavit, he was seen in the process of enveloping unidentifiable objects while he was sitting in the passenger seat.
During an excavation of the car after the shooting, the authorities found mobile phones wrapped in aluminum foil, ballistic helmet, night vision glasses, respirators and ammunition, the FBI said. They also found a set of shooting targets, some of which had been used, bidirectional radios, a dozen “electronic devices”, travel and accommodation information for several states and an apparent journal.
The office of the public defender who will represent Youngblut did not immediately respond to a voice message requesting more information. A man contacted on a telephone list of the Youngblut family in Washington State was identified as the grandfather of Youngblut and refused to comment. No one opened the door of a house in Seattle associated with the name of Youngblut, and the neighbors refused to comment.
The aunt of Maland, Joan Maland, refused, on behalf of his family, to comment on the arrest. The family has published a declaration expressing its gratitude for the support they received.
“To think that people who have never personally known David Christopher Maland would send him their condolences and beautiful words of support goes beyond our imagination,” they said. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Our grief continues, continue to pray for us.
–The editors of Associated Press Kathy McCormack, Patrick Whittle and Hallie Golden contributed to this report.
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