Border Patrol Agent Shot, Saved by Vest in Arizona

A U.S. Border Patrol agent who was wounded in a shooting in southern Arizona near the U.S.-Mexico border Tuesday was attacked by several assailants, one of whom shot him at close range, officials said at a press conference Wednesday. The shooting happened south of the community Arivaca at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The agent was struck several times and apparently returned fire. The agent, a 21-year veteran of the Border Patrol and a trained paramedic, called for help through his car radio and bandaged himself until medical support could reach him, officials said. 

Reports say the agent was hit in the hand, leg, and chest. The chest shots were stopped by his body armor, sources say.

He is in stable condition and is in good spirits, said Chief Patrol Agent Rodolfo Karisch, head of the U.S. Border Patrol in Tucson.

Karisch said Wednesday several people were taken into custody in the area by a specialized tactical unit, but Kasich didn't refer to them as suspects, CBS News reports.