A Washington state woman has been charged in the fatal shooting of a US Border Patrol agent in Vermont, which happened days after authorities began watching her and a German companion who also died in the roadside shootout, the FBI said Friday. The AP reports Teresa Youngblut, 21, faces two weapons charges in connection with the death of Border Patrol Agent David Maland, 44, who died Monday during the shootout in Coventry, a small town about 20 miles from the Canadian border.
According to an FBI affidavit, a border agent pulled over Youngblut and Felix Baukholt on Interstate 91 to conduct an immigration inspection. At the time, Baukholt appeared to have an expired visa, according to a Department of Homeland Security database, but investigators later confirmed that his visa was current. Youngblut, who had been driving Baukholt's car, got out and opened fire on Maland and other officers without warning, the FBI alleges. Baukholt tried to draw a gun but was shot, the affidavit states. At least one border agent fired on Youngblut and Baukholt, but authorities haven't specified whose bullets hit whom.
Investigators had been performing "periodic surveillance" on Youngblut and Baukholt since Jan. 14 after an employee at a hotel where they were staying reported concerns after seeing Youngblut carrying a gun. The employee also saw her and Baukholt wearing black tactical gear, according to the affidavit. Investigators tried to question the duo, who said they were in the area looking to buy property but declined to have an extended conversation, the FBI said.
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About two hours before the shooting, investigators watched Baukholt exit a Walmart in Newport, just north of Coventry, with two packages of aluminum foil. According to the affidavit, he was seen wrapping unidentifiable objects while seated in the passenger seat. During a search of the car after the shootout, authorities found cellphones wrapped in foil, a ballistic helmet, night-vision goggles, respirators, and ammunition, the FBI said. They also found a package of shooting range targets, including some that had been used, two-way radios, about a dozen "electronic devices," travel and lodging information for multiple states, and an apparent journal. (More on Maland here.)
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