A migrant smuggler dropped a 4-year-old boy from the top of a roughly 30-foot US-Mexican border wall last week, federal officials said.
Surveillance footage released Friday by Customs and Border Protection captured the terrifying moment an adult smuggler sitting atop the wall dropped the child to the ground near San Ysidro in San Diego.
The smuggler then immediately hops down the barrier to aid the 4-year-old and join a second, older child who was the first to make it over the wall last Monday, CBP said in a press release.
A 4-year-old was dropped from the border barrier by an unknown subject in San Diego, Monday. Responding Agents and EMS providing first aid to the child also reported gunshots near their position while tending to the child. Remarkably, the child is ok! Do not trust smugglers! pic.twitter.com/MlOp2qka72
— Chief Raul Ortiz (@USBPChief) May 22, 2023
The smuggler is seen scooping up the young child as a second adult makes their way over the wall and the foursome wanders away.
The group was quickly apprehended by Customs and Border Patrol agents, who rushed to aid the injured boy, but were interrupted by heavy gunfire.
The foursome was ordered to take cover as a CBP Air and Marine Operations helicopter rushed to provide air protection and Mexican law enforcement rushed to secure their side of the border, where agents believe the shots originated.
“Remarkably, the child is ok!” Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz tweeted in the aftermath of the frenzy. “Do not trust smugglers!”
It had not been confirmed whether they were the child’s parents, what nationality they are or whether they would be released to the US to pursue immigration cases.
Attempts to get over the wall happen daily but are less common among children of such young ages, agency spokesman Michael Scappechio said.
Researchers have found sharp increases in deaths and severe injuries associated with trying to overcome the San Diego wall since it was heightened during the Trump administration.
New data shows that more than 1.5 million illegal migrants have slipped into the US since Joe Biden took office — more than three times the number recorded during the last three years of Trump’s presidency.
With Post wires
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