SAN BENITO – No arrests have been made in an incident involving Border Patrol and an exchange of gunfire near the Rio Grande.

On Friday, Border Patrol agents attempted to stop a suspicious vehicle. Two people inside the van drove towards the river and fled in the direction of Mexico. The van was filled with bundles of narcotics.

During the gunfire exchange, 12 shots were fired. No one was injured.

Border Patrol spokesperson Marlene Castro said there are still no arrests linked to the incident.

She issued a statement in regards to another incident involving gunfire. It reads as follows:

“We had an agent and a trooper receive gunfire back in December.  Although the agent was not hurt because he was wearing his bullet proof vest, the trooper was struck in the hip area.  Both are doing fine now.  DPS is in charge of that investigation.

These types of incidents, narcotics smuggling and assaults on agents, do happen beyond the fence.  The main reason being that smugglers are willing to do anything to protect their drug load.  They often attempt to drive their narcotic-laden vehicles into the river to avoid having them seized by law enforcement and ruthlessly resort to assaulting agents to avoid arrest.”