The suspects involved in the fatal shooting of a federal agent near the Canadian border earlier this week have been identified as a woman from Washington State and a German national, both of whom had been under surveillance in the days leading up to the deadly encounter.
Teresa Youngblut, 21, has been charged in federal court with using a deadly weapon to assault, resist or impede federal law enforcement, and another count of assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the gunfire in Vermont on Monday afternoon.
She was allegedly behind the wheel of a blue Pius pulled over by Border Patrol agents, among them David Maland, along Interstate 91 in Coventry, a small town about 20 miles from the border.
Officers at the time suspected Felix Baukholt, a German national in the passenger seat of the Prius, had an expired visa, according to an FBI affidavit.
At one point during the traffic stop, Youngblut allegedly opened fire on the group of agents. Baukholt too tried to pull out a weapon, but he was shot before he could use it.
Authorities said at least one FBI agent also fired his weapon, but it’s not clear whose bullets hit whom.
Baukholt was pronounced dead on the scene while Maland, 44, was rushed to a nearby hospital. A military veteran and long-serving federal officer, Maland died about an hour later, police said.
Youngblut was also wounded in the gunfire and remains hospitalized. According to the FBI, both she and Baukolt had been under “periodic surveillance” since Jan. 14, after the agency was alerted to concerns reported by an employee at a hotel where the pair were staying. The tipster said they were both at one point wearing all-black tactical gear and that Youngblut had been carrying around a gun.
When investigators tried to question the duo, who said they were in the area looking to buy property, they declined to have an extended conversation, the FBI said.
Authorities later found a ballistic helmet, night-vision goggles, respirators and ammunition in the car, along with a package of shooting range targets, some of which were used. They also found two-way radios, about a dozen “electronic devices,” travel and lodging information for multiple states, and an apparent journal.
With News Wire Services
