TECATE - A border bandit shot an undocumented immigrant in the leg during an attempted robbery just north of the U.S.-Mexico line Tuesday.
The victim was part of a group of Mexican nationals who illegally entered the country in the Tecate area about 11:30 a.m., according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection public affairs.
Three thieves who had infiltrated the party of migrants waited until they reached a remote area, then tried to rob the others.
During the holdup attempt, one bandit shot one traveler in the calf, then ran off with his cohorts. All the migrants, except the victim and his wife, also fled back into Mexico following the shooting.
Border Patrol agents who saw the fleeing people went to the area where the victim was and provided first aid until medics arrived. The wounded man was taken to a hospital. His condition was not released.
Smuggling Boat Arrests
ENCINITAS - Federal agents arrested two dozen undocumented immigrants and three suspected human smugglers after they landed Tuesday on a North County beach in a fishing boat, authorities reported.
Border Patrol agents spotted the 30-foot vessel as it came ashore at Cardiff State Beach shortly before 1:30 a.m., according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection public affairs.
With help from sheriff's deputies, the federal personnel detained 19 men, three women and two teenage boys, ages 16 and 17, on the shoreline. All were in the county illegally, officials said.
Later in the morning, CBP marine-interdiction agents spotted the boat about two miles off the coast of Encinitas, stopped it and took the three men aboard into custody.
The suspects, Mexican nationals whose names were not immediately available, were expected to be charged with alien smuggling.
