BORDER AGENT SLAIN DURING ARREST

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- A Border Patrol agent was shot to death early
Wednesday while trying to arrest five suspected marijuana smugglers, who
then escaped from the agent's partner.

FBI agents scoured the rugged hills northwest of Nogales, about two miles
north of the border, after the 1 a.m. shooting.

Alexander Kirpnick, 27, was shot in the head after he and his partner had
stopped the suspects and Kirpnick had ordered two to sit. His partner, who
was not identified, heard a shot and found Kirpnick on the ground, said
Border Patrol spokesman Rob Daniels.

As the partner, who was not injured, called for assistance, the suspects fled.

Law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border, including two
dog-tracking teams, began searching for them. Bundles of marijuana were
recovered at the scene, Daniels said.

Kirpnick was flown to a hospital in Tucson where he was pronounced dead.

Kirpnick and his partner had waited for the suspected smugglers, who were
carrying backpacks, for about an hour after a ground sensor detected an
illegal border entry. Nogales is 60 miles south of Tucson.

``It's rough terrain, obviously very difficult to travel, especially at
night and carrying a load,'' Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada said.

Estrada, whose office was assisting in the search for the suspects, said
there was a strong possibility the smugglers had fled back into Mexico.

Kirpnick had emigrated from Russia a decade ago and joined the Border Patrol
in 1996.

``It's just a major loss for us,'' Daniels said.

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett