Gunmen Kill Two Migrants On U.S.-Mexico Border

Unknown gunmen shot dead two people believed to be undocumented immigrants and wounded a third.

Unknown gunmen shot dead two people believed to be undocumented immigrants and wounded a third when the vehicle they were traveling in was shot upon in southern Arizona early on Friday, police said.

The gunmen killed a man and a woman traveling in a pickup truck some 30 miles (50 km) south of Tucson, Pima County Sheriff's Department said.

Spokeswoman Dawn Barkman said the dead were believed to be Mexican immigrants traveling with three family groups from the poor southern Mexican state of Chiapas.

Each year U.S. border police catch more than a million undocumented immigrants crossing north from Mexico, many of them through the desert corridor south of Tucson. There are an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

Last month gunmen shot dead three Guatemalan immigrants and wounded two others in an attack on a back road northwest of Tucson. Investigators in that incident said rival people-trafficking networks were likely responsible.

Police say increased security on the U.S.-Mexico border has made human trafficking a more profitable activity, resulting in increased violence among smugglers.

A smuggling ring that Arizona police say flew thousands of illegal immigrants across the United States from the Phoenix area was busted earlier this week with 16 people indicted, authorities said on Thursday.

Authorities said nearly $2 million in bookings were made by the ring.