A lady has been arrested for her role in the deadly shooting of a US Border Patrol agent this week on a highway in Vermont near the US-Canada border, the FBI office in Albany announced on Friday.
Teresa Youngblut, a 21-year-old from Washington state, was charged with assaulting a federal law enforcement officer, according to the FBI. It’s not clear if Youngblut has a lawyer.
David Maland, a 44-year-old US Border Patrol Agent, was shot during a traffic stop on Interstate 91 in Coventry, Vermont, on Monday afternoon. He later died from his injuries, according to the Vermont State Police and the FBI. It is about 13 miles south of Coventry to the border with Canada.
Maland worked in the CBP’s Swanton Sector, which includes areas of Vermont, New York, and New Hampshire, according to a representative from US Customs and Border Protection who spoke to CNN.
The incident happened when Maland and some border patrol officials stopped Youngblut while he was driving a blue 2015 Toyota Prius with North Carolina license plates for an immigration check, according to court records. The car belonged to a passenger named Felix Baukholt, who is from Germany. Officials said he seemed to have an outdated US visa.
The traffic stop turned into a shooting when Youngblut reportedly shot a handgun at one of the agents, as stated in the court papers. Maland and Baukholt were shot and killed, while Youngblut was hurt and taken to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire for care.
Officials reported that Youngblut and Baukholt were being watched closely since January 14. This followed a call to the police from a hotel employee in Lyndonville, Vermont, who was worried because the two looked suspicious in their all-black tactical clothes and safety gear.
Hours before the shooting, detectives saw Youngblut and Baukholt go to a local Walmart, where they seemed to buy two packages of aluminum foil. When Baukholt got back to their car, they were spotted in the passenger seat using sheets of foil to wrap some items that couldn’t be identified, according to court papers.
When FBI officers searched the vehicle later, they found that the two people had several guns, bullets, walkie-talkies, and about twelve electronic devices with them.
They also discovered a variety of military equipment, such as a ballistic helmet, night-vision goggles, and a combat belt with a holster, according to court papers.
The search also found a journal that seems to belong to Youngblut and some papers with identification, utility bills, lease agreements, travel details, and lodging information from several states.
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