PUBLISHED: 25 May 2022
Hero border patrol agent from elite BORTAC tactical unit ended Texas school rampage when he rushed into building with a 'SWAT-like' team and shot dead barricaded gunman, 18
- The agent who killed the gunman responsible for shooting 21 people at Robb Elementary school in Texas was wounded but able to walk, said law enforcement
- It has been reported the agent was part of the 'elite' tactical unit named BORTAC
- The agent, who shortened one of the worst school shootings in the US by killing 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos, has not yet been named
A hero Border Patrol officer ended America's deadliest school mass shooting in almost a decade when he rushed in and shot the attacker dead, it has been revealed.
The unnamed agent - who got into a firefight with 18-year-old shooter Salvador Ramos - is believed to be from the Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC), which has specialized agents dispersed throughout the United States.
He is believed to have been taking part in a nearby operation to raid drug 'stash houses' with a SWAT-like team when they heard reports of a shooter in a school, and went in to take Ramos down.
The agent is thought to have been grazed by a bullet during a shoot-out with Ramos, but was otherwise uninjured. A total of 21 people, 19 of them children aged under 11, were killed in the attack - not including Ramos, who was also shot dead.
The agent who ended Tuesday's school massacre by shooting and killing the Robb Elementary school gunman is reported to be part of an 'elite' tactical unit. Law enforcement personnel are pictured at the scene of the shooting which saw two teachers and at least 19 children die
The unnamed agent is believed to be part of an 'elite' tactical unit from the Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC), which has agents who undergo extreme training dispersed throughout the United States (file photo from US Customs and Border protection website)
Video shows shooting suspect approaching Robb Elementary School
More than a dozen were wounded including at least 14 children - one of whom is currently in critical condition in hospital alongside a 66-year-old woman, believed to be Ramos's grandmother, who was also in critical.
Police say Ramos shot his grandmother in her home during an argument before fleeing in a car which he crashed near Robb Elementary School. He then went inside with a rifle he bought legally, and carried out the massacre.
A resident who heard the crash called 911, and two local police officers were shot when exchanging gunfire with the shooter.
WHAT IS BORTAC?
The elite 'BORTAC' unit began in 1984 to serve a civil disturbance function in response to rioting at legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service detention facilities.
The unit quickly evolved to counter terrorist threats at home and abroad, including deployment to Iraq and supporting US troops throughout the War on Terror.
BORTAC's training mirrors that of the US special forces.
Candidates who pass the initial physical testing must then complete a timed, six-mile ruck march with a weighted pack, as well as swimming, treading water, and drown-proofing test.
BORTAC agents are expected to perform under extreme stress and sleep deprivation conditions.
Once they have graduated, they return to their respective sectors and work alongside other US agents, continuing with advanced weapons training.
The Del Rio-based BORTAC team was working west of San Antonio in an ongoing campaign taking down 'stash houses', used for smuggling people through the US border illegally.
San Antonio is a hub for people smugglers, with officers at times discovering 60 people crammed together with no electricity, running water, or food
As the school shooting began, Ramos was 'engaged' by both a school-district police officer and then two city police officers who were first on the scene, a Texas public safety officer told CNN.
Those officers were unable to stop Ramos, and called for backup from nearby police and Border Patrol units.
Marsha Espinosa, Homeland Security spokesman, said multiple border agents and other officers entered the building and 'faced gun fire from the subject, who was barricaded inside.'
'Risking their own lives, these Border Patrol Agents and other officers put themselves between the shooter and children on the scene to draw the shooter’s attention away from potential victims and save lives,' she said.
'At least one Border Patrol Agent was wounded by the shooter during the exchange of gunfire. On-and-off duty Border Patrol Agents arrived on the scene to assist with transferring students safely to their families and providing medical support.'
Ramos was behind a barricade, returning fire, but the border patrol agent managed to shoot and kill the gunman before he could claim more victims.
The agent who ultimately shot and killed Ramos was from the elite BORTAC force, reported Fox News, which added that the agent was wounded in the leg.
BORTAC is headquartered in El Paso, Texas, explaining the presence of the agent from the unusual tactical unit.
The unit is unique in that it conducts training and operations both in the United States and in other countries 'in furtherance of the US Border Patrol’s mission', according to US Customs and Border protection.
Dozens more children may have been killed if the BORTAC agent had not intervened, with the killer claiming the lives of 19 children and two teachers before he was stopped.
The agent was wounded but able to walk out of the school, law enforcement official said.
Meanwhile, teams of Border Patrol agents raced to the school, according to Jason Owens, a top regional official with the Border Patrol.
A number of the shooting victims are children of Customs and Border Patrol agents, according to ABC News.
'It hit home for everybody,' he said.
US Border and Customs has not yet responded to MailOnline's request for comment.
One video at the scene appears to show the suspected gunman, named by Governor Greg Abbott as Salvador Ramos, approach the school while what sounds like gunfire is going off in the background
Salvador Ramos, 18, murdered 21 people on Tuesday at Robb Elementary School. Family friends said they remember him having a temper growing up, but couldn't believe he could be so violent
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