Authorities on Edge after Attack on Border Patrol Agent

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Posted: May 31, 2013 6:59 PM Updated: May 31, 2013 7:54 PM

STARR COUNTY - Authorities on both sides of the border are searching for the people who attacked a U.S. Border Patrol Agent near the Rio Grande City international bridge.
Border Patrol agents said a man flagged down a bike patrol agent near the river. The man told the agent he had a broken leg. When agent got close, the man and two others attacked him. He was thrown over a 20-foot embankment.
The three suspects grabbed the agent's bike and fled into Mexico.
The agent was taken to the local hospital where he was treated and released.
The attack put all law enforcement agencies on alert.
Rio Grande City police said they are under constant watch. Detective Esmeralda Garza said criminals may be getting desperate.
Garza, a 4-1/2-year veteran of the force, knows she is a target when she hits the streets.
"We always have to be very aware of our environment wherever we go. No matter the place, we have to be very vigilant at all times," Garza said.
She said anyone can turn violent, not just criminals.
"I was conducting a pat down, I felt a weapon behind his back and it was loaded with a magazine and he had two cartridges in his pocket," Garza said of run-in with a suspect.
"I immediately thought that I could have died at that instant," she said.
"There are a lot of people that will do whatever it takes to not get arrested and go to jail," Garza said.
http://www.krgv.com/news/authorities-on-edge-after-attack-on-border-patrol-agent/