Hero border patrol agent from elite BORTAC tactical unit ended Texas school rampage when he rushed into building with a ‘SWAT-like’ team and shot dead barricaded gunman, 18
- The agent who killed the gunman responsible for shooting 21 people at Robb Elementary school in Texas was wounded but able to walk, said law enforcement
- It has been reported the agent was part of the ‘elite’ tactical unit named BORTAC
- The agent, who shortened one of the worst school shootings in the US by killing 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos, has not yet been named
The agent who shot and killed the gunman who massacred 21 people at Robb Elementary is reported to be part of an ‘elite’ tactical unit.
The unnamed agent is believed to be from the Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC), which has specialized agents dispersed throughout the United States.
The BORTAC agent shot gunman Salvador Ramos, 18, yesterday, after sustaining an injury during the firefight.
The school shooter used a legally bought rifle to murder two teachers and at least 19 children aged seven to 11 in Uvalde, marking one of the worst US school massacres in a decade.
The agent who ended Tuesday’s school massacre by shooting and killing the Robb Elementary school gunman is reported to be part of an ‘elite’ tactical unit. Law enforcement personnel are pictured at the scene of the shooting which saw two teachers and at least 19 children die
The unnamed agent is believed to be part of an ‘elite’ tactical unit from the Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC), which has agents who undergo extreme training dispersed throughout the United States (file photo from US Customs and Border protection website)
BORTAC is headquartered in El Paso, Texas, and is unique in that it conducts training and operations both in the United States and in other countries (file photo from US Customs and Border protection website)
The gunman crashed his car outside Robb Elementary school in Uvalde and ran into the building at 11:30am, according to Travis Considine, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety.
A resident who heard the crash called 911, and two local police officers were shot when exchanging gunfire with the shooter.
WHAT IS BORTAC?
The elite ‘BORTAC’ unit began in 1984 to serve a civil disturbance function in response to rioting at legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service detention facilities.
The unit quickly evolved to counter terrorist threats at home and abroad, including deployment to Iraq and supporting US troops throughout the War on Terror.
BORTAC’s training mirrors that of the US special forces.
Candidates who pass the initial physical testing must then complete a timed, six-mile ruck march with a weighted pack, as well as swimming, treading water, and drown-proofing test.
BORTAC agents are expected to perform under extreme stress and sleep deprivation conditions.
Once they have graduated, they return their respective sectors and work alongside other US agents, continuing with advanced weapons training.
The Del Rio-based BORTAC team was working west of San Antonio in an ongoing campaign taking down ‘stash houses’, used for smuggling people through the US border illegally.
San Antonio is a hub for people smugglers, with officers at times discovering 60 people crammed together with no electricity, running water, or food
When the shooting began, the team sent agents to the nearby school, according to an official statement received by Coffee Or Die.
The BORTAC agent, whose identity has not yet been revealed, rushed into the school alongside the team.
Ramos was behind a barricade, returning fire, but the border patrol agent managed to shoot and kill the gunman before he could claim more victims.
‘They came in from opposite sides. The BORTAC agent ended up exchanging gunfire with the shooter, killed the shooter, and I am told that the agent was injured in his leg,’ reported Fox News.
‘They are trying to figure out if he was shot in the leg or hit by shrapnel.’
BORTAC is headquartered in El Paso, Texas, explaining the presence of the agent from the unusual tactical unit.
The unit is unique in that it conducts training and operations both in the United States and in other countries ‘in furtherance of the US Border Patrol’s mission’, according to US Customs and Border protection.
Dozens more children may have been killed if the BORTAC agent had not intervened, with the killer claiming the lives of 19 children and two teachers before he was stopped.
The agent was wounded but able to walk out of the school, law enforcement official said.
Meanwhile, teams of Border Patrol agents raced to the school, according to Jason Owens, a top regional official with the Border Patrol.
Some of the border area agents have children at Robb Elementary.
‘It hit home for everybody,’ he said.
US Border and Customs has not yet responded to MailOnline’s request for comment.
Salvador Ramos, 18, murdered 21 people on Tuesday at Robb Elementary School. Family friends said they remember him having a temper growing up, but couldn’t believe he could be so violent
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