Gunman with AK-47 filmed aiming at Texas border patrol helicopter while it flies overhead

‘Hey, Romeo Zulu units,’ someone in the helicopter says. ‘The red SUV… they have an AK-47 they just pointed at us’

Unnerving footage from a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter appears to show a man in Mexico pointing a gun directly at the aircraft.

The video, which was obtained by Fox News reporter Bill Melugin, shows an aerial view of Starr County, Texas as the copter flies over it. At one point, the camera zooms into a red vehicle on the Mexico side of the border, where a man is standing outside the passenger door with a rifle in his hands. Suddenly, he hoists it up and aims straight at the camera.

“Hey, Romeo Zulu units,” someone in the helicopter says. “The red SUV… they have an AK-47 they just pointed at us.”

Later in the video, the red car and several others can be seen driving into a compound of small buildings in the middle of the desert.

“Looks like a hideout, maybe,” the DPS member says.

Several other cars then show up, and people begin to gather at the compound. According to Fox News, these men are suspected of belonging to a Mexican crime cartel, and DPS called in what they saw to Mexico’s government. Soon afterward, Mexican military vehicles arrive.

According to Mr Melugin’s reporting, what happened next was a “gunfight.” Five suspected cartel members were killed, four were arrested, and several guns were recovered – along with the red car, Fox News reported.

On Monday, Texas governor Greg Abbott retweeted the DPS footage, blaming the gun-pointing on President Joe Biden’s border policies.

“Cartel member from Mexico aims at Texas DPS helicopter on patrol,” the Republican wrote. “Biden’s open border policies embolden the cartels to traffick [sic] women, children, & drugs & attack our law enforcement. God bless @TxDPS for putting their lives at risk to keep us safe.”

The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment.

Violence near the US-Mexico border has increased in recent weeks, especially after a leader of the notorious Northeast Cartel was arrested. On 14 March, the US consulate in the border city of Nuevo Laredo temporarily closed due to the gunfights, and the State Department urged Americans to stay away.

“The Department of State authorized the departure of non-emergency US government personnel and eligible family members from the US Consulate General in Nuevo Laredo due to security conditions,” the agency said in a statement. “US citizens wishing to depart Nuevo Laredo should monitor local news and announcements and only do so when considered safe during daylight hours.”