FBI offers little new information

By Michael Donoghue, Vermont News First

The German national that was killed during a shootout that also claimed the life of a U.S. Border Patrol Agent in Orleans County on Monday has been identified as Felix Bauckholt.

There is now conflicting information on whether Bauckholt was an illegal immigrant or had just overstayed his Visa.

The Washington-based news service Just The News said today it had confirmed earlier reports that Bauckholt was illegally in the United States.

However, Vermont News First learned this afternoon that a new Border Patrol report indicates Bauckholt may have been legally in the country.

Tuesday night the FBI said in a news release that Homeland Security confirmed the dead immigrant “is a German national in the U.S. on a current Visa.”

Earlier today, the dead Border Patrol Agent was identified as David “Chris” Maland, 44, who has been with the agency for more than 12 years. Maland, who was hit in the neck during the shootout, also was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, the FBI said.

The Just The News report also indicated for the first time that a second Border Patrol Agent was at the scene. One unconfirmed report indicated the second agent was relatively new on the job, possibly a trainee.

Meanwhile Vermont News First learned that Bauckholt was among three people that U.S. Homeland Security in Vermont had been monitoring in recent days, officials said.

Some or all three people had been staying in recent days at the Newport City Inn and Suites on East Main Street. A motel spokeswoman told Vermont News FIrst the business has cooperated with the Border Patrol.

They also may have stayed at a hotel in the St. Johnsbury area, one investigator said.

A woman, who was with Bauckholt during the shootout, remains at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. where she is being treated for gunshot wounds, officials said. She also fired gunshots at the Border Patrol, Just the News reported.

The woman shooter, who had a Washington state identification, is under armed guard by law enforcement, reportedly by the Border Patrol and New Hampshire State Police.

At some point after she is discharged from the hospital it is expected that she could appear in U.S. District Court in Burlington to face possible charges of assault on federal agents, a spokesman said.

It was unclear the whereabouts or status of the third person who was linked earlier to the two suspects involved in the shooting.

Investigators will be working with Acting U.S. Attorney Michael P. Drescher, who took over the federal office in Burlington on Monday.

The FBI seized the North Carolina-registered car, an older Prius, that was used by the two shooting suspects. FBI agents have been busy preparing multiple search warrant requests for various items, including the car and for the phones and other devices owned by the two shooting suspects.

A Vermont State Trooper from the nearby Derby barracks, who came to assist the wounded Border Patrol agents, rendered emergency first aid to the fallen officer, officials said.

Rescue personnel soon arrived to assist both wounded persons.

Maland was a K-9 handler, but officials said nothing initially about whether his dog was with him at the scene. By Tuesday afternoon there was a report that the dog was present, but unclear if he had been deployed.

The 3:15 p.m. shooting comes on Inauguration Day for President Donald J. Trump, who has said he plans to focus on the deportation of illegal immigrants, especially those classified as dangerous.

The incident stemmed from a U.S. Homeland Security Operation organized in Vermont, police said. Officials had said on Monday at least one illegal immigrant may have overstayed a work Visa and was being monitored in recent days.

The Vermont Crime Scene Search Team braved bitter-cold temperatures on Monday combing the area for clues, including gunshot evidence. Members were still out on I-91 on Tuesday morning collecting possible evidence.

The VSP Bomb Squad also was called out for unknown reasons.

VSP announced at noon that I-91 had fully re-opened.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes Vermont State Police, is taking the lead on the investigation.

The FBI in Albany, N.Y. did eventually confirm some of the information shortly after 8:30 Monday night.

The FBI said the Border Patrol Agent was killed and another person is dead. The FBI also confirmed another “subject” was injured and in custody.

“FBI personnel will be working with our partners from U.S. Border Patrol and Vermont State Police to gather evidence and process the scene. While there is no threat to the public, Interstate 91 will remain closed due to investigative activity,” a spokeswoman said.

“This is an active investigation, and FBI Albany will work to provide more details as they become available,” she said. No more information is expected tonight.

Authorities were hard pressed to remember the last time a federal agent was killed in the line of duty in Vermont. Vermont did lose some federal agents during prohibition, according to noted historian Scott Wheeler, publisher of the Northland Journal in Derby.

A considerable number of Vermonters have changed their facebook picture tonight to show support for the U.S. Border Patrol by showing one of its badges with the black “mourning ban” signifying the death of a law enforcement officer.

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Benjamine Huffman was among those on Monday afternoon to confirm the death of a U.S. Border Patrol Agent in the line of duty.

“Every single day, our Border Patrol agents put themselves in harm’s way so that Americans and our homeland are safe and secure,” he said.

“My prayers and deepest condolences are with our Department, the Agent’s family, loved ones, and colleagues. This incident is being swiftly investigated and DHS will release additional information as soon as it becomes available,” Huffman said.

The Border Patrol has seen an increase in Vermont in the number of illegal immigrants cases that involve firearms, especially by people picking up so-called “Border Jumpers.”

For the past four years Homeland Security in Washington, D.C. has muzzled Border Patrol employees and leaders out in the field, including along the Vermont border. They were told to redirect questions from the public to headquarters.

Most of the details about the Monday shooting were coming out of Washington, D.C. Officials in Vermont say they were unsure what they could say about the federal operation.

Vermont News First was told that federal, state, county and local law enforcement were flooding the area after the shooting.

A State Police commander said details are limited about the shooting, but Interstate 91 was shutdown in both directions.

A subsequent VSP news release said the incident actually happened in the town of Coventry. The FBI has become the lead investigative agency and state police continues to provide back-up assistance, VSP spokesman Adam Silverman said.

One witness reported seeing an unmarked gray or dirty white pickup truck with flashing blue and red emergency lights stopped on the side of the interstate and may be connected to the shooting.

A Border Patrol Agent in uniform was standing in front of his law enforcement truck on I-91 talking to a man who apparently was from a bluish-gray sedan that had been stopped, according to Essex County State’s Attorney Vince Illuzzi, who said he happened to be driving by the scene. Illuzzi said nothing was happening as he drove past that area.

The U.S. Border Patrol use unmarked vehicles in addition to the standard green and white marked cruisers with emergency blue and red lights.

Others assisting the FBI are the Border Patrol, Homeland Security, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, state police, the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department and Newport City Police.

The chair of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security issued a statement grieving the loss of the Border Patrol agent.

“I am heartbroken by the loss of Agent David Maland, a dedicated Border Patrol agent who was horrifically shot in the line of duty while serving at our northern border,” Rep. Mark E. Green, R-Tenn, said.

“We owe an immense debt of gratitude to Agent Maland for nearly a decade of service protecting our communities in the force. We must never forget that the men and women in green on the frontlines of this border crisis defend our homeland at great personal cost,” Green, who is a doctor, said in his prepared statement.

“Far too often these courageous public servants, like Agent Maland, pay the ultimate price. Please join me in prayer for Agent Maland’s loved ones and fellow agents as they mourn this tragic loss and honor his memory,” he said.

The interstate between exit 27 for Newport and exit 26 for Orleans was closed down both ways shortly before 3:30 p.m., state police said. The northbound lane had reopened shortly after 5 p.m. Monday.