{"id":33701,"date":"2025-02-18T21:46:56","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T21:46:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/18\/dhs-helicopter-patrolling-border-struck-three-times-by-laser-from-mexico\/"},"modified":"2025-02-18T21:46:56","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T21:46:56","slug":"dhs-helicopter-patrolling-border-struck-three-times-by-laser-from-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/18\/dhs-helicopter-patrolling-border-struck-three-times-by-laser-from-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"DHS helicopter patrolling border struck three times by laser from Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Department of Homeland Security<\/a> (DHS) helicopter that was patrolling the southern U.S. border was targeted by a laser from the Mexican side of the boundary.<\/p>\n

An AS-350 helicopter patrolling about 13 miles west of McAllen International Airport in Texas<\/a> was struck three times by a laser that was pointed at the aircraft from a vehicle on the Mexican riverbank last week, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) release.<\/p>\n

The incident marked the sixth time in the last four months that Air Interdiction Agents have been forced to take evasive maneuvers after being targeted by lasers, the release notes.<\/p>\n

NEW CARTEL THREATS AGAINST BORDER AGENTS: EXPLOSIVES, DRONES AND WIRELESS TRACKING<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Another recent incident, also involving an AS-350 helicopter, occurred in Jacksonville, Florida<\/a>, last month, which resulted in the arrest of an individual who now faces felony charges in the state.<\/p>\n

“No pilots or crew were injured in these cases, and the laser sightings are being investigated,” the release said.<\/p>\n

Owning handheld lasers isn\u2019t illegal, but shining the laser into the cockpit of an aircraft is a federal crime that can result in 20 years of prison time and a $250,000 fine, the release notes.<\/p>\n

BORDER PATROL AGENTS TO STOP WEARING BODY CAMERAS AFTER SOCIAL MEDIA POST REVEALS \u2018SECURITY RISK\u2019<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“When laser beams are aimed at any piloted aircraft, whether military or commercial, what might seem like a tiny beam on the ground can blind aircrew, potentially causing a midair collision or other incident,” the release warned.<\/p>\n

Border Patrol<\/a> personnel have come under continued threats in recent months, including a report earlier this week that revealed agents in the field will no longer wear body cameras after a social media post revealed how to exploit the cameras to track and potentially threaten agents by using a Bluetooth application that can be downloaded to a cellphone.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“Pending completion of investigation and risk mitigation, all Agents will stand down the use of their BWCs [body worn cameras] until further notice. Additional guidance and information will be disseminated as it is received,” a CBP directive on that issue read.<\/p>\n

CBP did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) helicopter that was patrolling the southern U.S. border was targeted by a laser from the Mexican side of the boundary. An AS-350 helicopter patrolling about 13 miles west of McAllen International Airport in Texas was struck three times by a laser that was pointed at the aircraft from a … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33701\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2shorts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}