(CNN) — When the shots rang out in the Robb Elementary School in UvaldeIn , Texas, officials from the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) were among the various agencies that joined local and federal authorities on the scene.
It’s not unusual: CBP officers are within 100 miles of the U.S. border and have a significant presence in many border communities, said Javed Ali, an associate professor at the University of Michigan and a former senior department official. of National Security.
Uvalde is located about 130 kilometers from the border with Mexico and, therefore, within the jurisdiction of the Office of Customs and Border Protection.
Authorities are still gathering details about the timeline of events leading up to the massacre, but have determined that members of Border Patrol’s elite team, the Border Patrol Tactical Unit, fatally shot the gunman nearly an hour after he stormed the school.
The Border Patrol falls under Customs and Border Protection, under the Department of Homeland Security.
The teen climbed out of a classroom locker and began shooting as Border Patrol agents entered the classroom, more than an hour after the massacre began, a source familiar with the situation told CNN on Friday.
The officers were part of a team that fatally shot the assailant, ending an attack that killed 19 fourth graders and two adults Tuesday afternoon.
Before the assault on the aggressor, a group of 19 agents stayed in a corridor outside the classroom and did not act while waiting for classroom keys and the tactical team, a state official said at a news conference.
What is BORTAC?
The United States Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) was formed in 1984.
It was initially created in response to disturbances in Immigration and Naturalization Service detention centers, according to CBP officials.
Law enforcement personnel near the scene of the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Since then it has evolved into a highly trained tactical unit that operates both nationally and internationally.
“BORTAC is unique in that it offers a global response capability. The unit has conducted training and operations with foreign and domestic law enforcement and military entities throughout the United States and around the world, including in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq War) and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan War),” details the CBP.
It is the equivalent of a SWAT
Being part of the Border Patrol Tactical Unit is no small thing. The course lasts one month and candidates must pass strenuous tests similar to those selection courses of the United States Special Operations Forces. They have physical tests, such as push-ups, traversing water, advanced weapons skills, defensive tactics, and airmobile operations.
It is now considered the Department of Homeland Security’s CBP Global Special Response Team.
Ali compared it to the elite Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams, the military-style units of US police forces, which use specialized or military equipment.
“Their mission is to respond to terrorist threats of all kinds anywhere in the world to protect our nation’s homeland. Their agents are among the most dedicated and highly trained special operators in the nation,” CBP says.
People leave the Uvalde Civic Center following the shooting at Robb Elementary School.
He has participated in high-level operations in the US.
BORTAC has played a critical role in major operations in the United States.
During the 1980s, he collaborated with the Drug Control Administration in the war on drugs in the United States. In the 1990s, he was deployed to Los Angeles following riots during the Rodney King trial. In April 2000, he participated in the raid on a Miami home that returned Cuban refugee Elián González to his family.
And after the attacks of September 11, 2001, officials of the BORTAC were deployed to help secure high-risk areas across the country.
CBP has a local office in Uvalde
Like many Texas cities in the border area, CBP has a checkpoint in Uvalde. It oversees about 7,700 square kilometers of South Texas and conducts traffic control and freight train operations. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorka said some of the agency’s officials live in Uvalde and surrounding communities.
Play a supporting role
In incidents like Tuesday’s, in which local authorities are in command at the scene, CBP officers often play a supporting role and are told what to do by the agency in charge, one person said. source to CNN, adding that they try not to overwhelm the authorities.
Although the team submits to local command, if it considers it necessary, it can take precedence. There is still no indication that this happened in the incident at the school this week.
When U.S. Border Patrol agents belonging to the specialized unit responded to the school around 12:15 p.m., the officer in charge had already resolved that it was a barricaded subject situation, according to a source familiar with the matter. .
“They showed up from where they were and set up the operation in a hurry,” the source added. “Some of the officers came from the field … and some who were off duty also rushed to respond.”
— Priscilla Alvarez contributed to this report.