German citizen and US border official shot dead near Canadian border

A German citizen has been shot dead in an exchange of gunfire near the border with Canada. Both he and his companion Teresa Youngblut, a US citizen, had been under surveillance by the FBI for several days. Youngblut, who was shot, will be brought before a US federal judge on Monday.

When US Border Patrol officers conducted a vehicle check on Interstate 91 around 32 kilometres south of the border, the driver of the car opened fire on the officers.

The passenger, German citizen Felix B., and a United States Border Patrol officer were shot and killed in the exchange of gunfire.

According to court documents, about 15 minutes after the vehicle was stopped, the female driver of the vehicle exited the car, pulled out a handgun and opened fire without warning. B. attempted to draw a weapon but was shot.

The officer and the German were shot in the ensuing exchange of fire, the driver was injured. Who fired the fatal shots is the subject of an ongoing investigation.

According to the FBI, the German is Felix B., who was in the USA on a valid tourist visa. The charges against Youngblut include two counts: Use of a deadly weapon in the assault on a U.S. Border Patrol agent and use and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to that assault. No charges have yet been filed for the murder of the Border Patrol agent.

Youngblut, who is 21, is expected to appear in federal court on Monday to be formally charged.

At least one Border Patrol agent shot at Youngblut and Felix B., but authorities have not specified whose bullets hit whom.

Investigators had been “regularly monitoring” Youngblut and Felix B. since Jan. 14, after an employee at a hotel where they were staying noticed that Youngblut was armed and that she and B. were wearing black tactical gear.

When questioned by officers from a federal agency, the couple said they were in the area looking for real estate. They declined “more detailed questioning”. According to the FBI, the interview provided no reason to take them into custody.

About two hours before the shooting, investigators observed B. coming out of a Walmart in Newport with two packages of aluminium foil. According to the documents the FBI submitted to the court, he was observed wrapping unidentifiable items while sitting in the passenger seat.

During a search of the car after the shooting, authorities found foil-wrapped cell phones, a ballistic helmet, night-vision goggles, respirators and ammunition, the FBI said. They also found a package of gun range targets, including some that had already been used, radios, about a dozen “electronic devices,” travel and lodging information for several states and apparently a diary.

According to local CBS station WCAX, the FBI was investigating the couple for serious crimes. The FBI's special agent in charge was responsible for computer crime, fraud and criminal hacking.