The US Border Patrol agent murdered during a traffic stop with a migrant in Vermont was an Air Force veteran who survived the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, his family said.
David “Chris” Maland, 44, died Monday afternoon after a shootout with a German national on Interstate 91 about 20 miles from the Canadian border, federal officials have said.
His heartbroken family told the Associated Press that Maland — who was also a K-9 handler — had spent nine years in the military and 15 working for the federal government.
“He was a devoted agent who served with honor and bravery,” the family said in a Tuesday night statement, adding that he was on duty guarding the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
“He had a tremendous respect and pride for the work he did; he truly embodied service over self.”
The German national — in the United States on what the FBI called a current visa — was killed during the exchange of gunfire. Another suspect was wounded and taken into custody.
The violence near the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Newport Station temporarily shut down a portion of the highway in Coventry, which is a part of the small community of Orleans County near the international border.
The Derby Line–Rock Island Border Crossing, about 12 miles north of Coventry, is a major link to the Canadian province of Quebec.
Maland worked the Border Patrol’s Swanton Sector, which includes Vermont and parts of New York and New Hampshire — and also straddles about 295 miles of America’s border with its northern neighbor.
Before heading north, the Minnesota native worked in Texas near the Mexican border.
His family members called him by his middle name, Chris. And he was about to propose to his partner, according to aunt Joan Maland.
“We are all devastated,” she said in a text, adding that he was an “exceptional person. Incredible man.”
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Maland was the first Border Patrol agent killed in the line of duty since Javier Vega Jr. was shot and killed near Santa Monica, Texas, in 2014, according to records provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s thoughts and prayers are with Agent Maland’s family during this difficult time,” the agency said in a statement.
With Post wires
