RESCUED THE ILLEGALS AFTER BP SHOT UP AND BOARDED THE BOAT, IT CAPSIZED... Border patrol agents fired shots at a fleeing boat loaded with 14 immigrants, boarded the vessel – which then capsized and hurled all aboard into the dark waters off Palm Beach County, according to federal court documents obtained by the Sun Sentinel. The occupants, none of whom had life jackets, were rescued and taken via U.S. Coast Guard and Border Protection patrol boats to the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Riviera Beach, agents said. "This is an example of the grave danger smugglers put smuggled aliens in when transporting them into the United States unlawfully," Michael Flanagan, Deputy Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol, Miami Sector, said in an email. The boat was taking the immigrants from the Bahamas to Florida when border agents shot at it and boarded the vessel, according to the documents. All on board the single-engine boat, which included a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent who boarded to arrest the captain, were hurled into the Atlantic shortly after 1:20 a.m. June 5, according to two criminal complaints filed in federal court in West Palm Beach. U.S. Border Patrol agent Frank M. Miller said the border agent who went into the water when the boat capsized was well equipped to deal with the situation.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 06:00:07 +0000