A man was shot and killed after fleeing from a United States Border Patrol Immigration Checkpoint in West Texas and opening fire on pursuing officers. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the incident occurred near Kent, Texas, on Interstate 10 on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.
An ensuing high-speed pursuit that culminated in a shootout between the driver and law enforcement. The pursuit began when the suspect fled from a Border Patrol Immigration Checkpoint located just outside the remote West Texas city of Sierra Blanca. Border Patrol agents and Texas Highway Patrol troopers were involved in the incident and exchanged gunfire with the subject after being fired upon by the unnamed driver, according to a DPS spokesperson.
The driver was identified late Wednesday afternoon as 33-year-old James Douglas McMillan of Greenfield, Wisconsin. According to DPS, McMillan fled from the checkpoint after a Border Patrol K-9, trained to alert to the odor of humans and narcotics, alerted to the vehicle during an open-air search. During the pursuit, McMillan shot at responding law enforcement officers and civilian vehicles through the window of his vehicle.
Pursuing officers executed a Precision immobilization technique known as a PIT maneuver on the vehicle that ended the pursuit. McMillan barricaded himself in his vehicle according to Texas DPS and raised his firearm, aiming it at officers. At that time, he was shot and killed by law enforcement. There were no other injuries during the incident.
U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales (R-TX) commented on the shooting shortly after the incident was resolved in a post on X, saying, “I have been in contact with the Border Patrol agents on the ground. Agents are safe, and the threat has been neutralized. The Sierra Blanca checkpoint is the 2nd busiest in the United States. We are all grateful to the men and women on the front lines who keep America Safe.”
Texas Department of Public Safety issued a notice to motorists warning on X advising the public to avoid the area if possible that read, “Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Troopers and Texas Rangers are on the scene of an officer-involved shooting along I-10 near Kent in West Texas after a suspect vehicle fled from the Sierra Blanca checkpoint and opened fire on responding law enforcement. There is no longer a threat to the public, but drivers are asked to avoid the area as the investigation is ongoing. More information will be released soon.”
High-speed flight from a Border Patrol Checkpoint is a felony offense under Title 18 United States Code, which makes it an offense to flee or evade a checkpoint operated by Border Patrol agents or any other federal law enforcement agency and thereafter flee from federal, state, or local law enforcement agents in excess of the legal speed limit. The penalty for a conviction of the offense is a fine and imprisonment for no more than five years, or both.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
