While in Washington, the new US President Donald Trump took office and strengthened border security with his first decrees, a incident occurred during a traffic stop in the US state of Vermont, not far from the Canadian border. As border patrol agent David Maland, 44, was walking back to his car, he was shot from behind. He was hit in the back and managed to return fire; the attacker also died and the woman in the passenger seat was injured and is currently in a clinic, according to the FBI. Since 2014, no US border agent had been killed in the line of duty.
It was later established that the man who murdered the police officer was a German national. The FBI in Albany confirmed this, stating, “Our partners at the homeland security ministry confirmed that the deceased was a German citizen with a valid visa in the US.”The German Foreign Office has also confirmed this, stating, “The Foreign Office must confirm the death of a German national in the US. Our general consulate in Boston is in contact with US authorities to clarify the circumstances of the incident.”
The reason why the German’s car was stopped and why he was shot is still unclear. The FBI has taken over the investigation. Maland was buried on Thursday and a minute of silence was observed in the US Congress in his honor. Maland had previously served nine years in the US Air Force and was on duty at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Maland had previously been deployed to the Texas border as a handler.
Border controls in the area near the Canadian border were recently strengthened, as a part of the illegal immigration has shifted to this border. At the Swanton border section, which stretches for approximately 474 kilometers from Vermont through New Hampshire to New York, 19,385 illegal immigrants were apprehended last year, from a total of 97 countries of origin.
Vermont Governor Phil Scott, who expressed his condolences to Maland’s family and friends, also expressed the hope that the situation at his border section could improve in the future, stating, “I think we’ve worked hard with our partners at the northern border in the last few months and I think it’s clear that we need more resources. They’ve clearly suggested it. So, I hope they get the federal support they need to actually secure the border.