The woman who allegedly opened fire at U.S. border patrol agents in northern Vermont, leaving one agent dead, used a gun bought by someone who was a person of interest in a double murder in Pennsylvania, federal prosecutors said Monday.
The woman, Teresa Youngblut, was riding in a car with a German national, Felix Bauckholt, when border patrol agents pulled them over to conduct an immigration inspection on Jan. 20. At some point during the traffic stop, Youngblut fired at the agents, prompting at least one to shoot back, according to court documents.
One of the agents, David “Chris” Maland, 44, was killed in the exchange of gunfire. Bauckholt was fatally shot after he drew a gun, court documents say, and Youngblut was wounded. The court documents do not make clear whether Maland was struck by one of the bullets Youngblut allegedly fired or a shot from a fellow agent.
The shooting occurred on a highway in rural Orleans County, about 20 miles south of the Canadian border.
Youngblut is set to be arraigned Monday afternoon on two federal counts, including assaulting a border patrol agent with a deadly weapon.
In court papers filed earlier Monday, federal prosecutors in Vermont said Youngblut and Bauckholt both possessed firearms purchased by a resident of the state in February 2024. That person, who was not identified, is a person of interest in a double homicide in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, prosecutors said.
Bauckholt flew into the U.S. in the hours before the Pennsylvania murders. Prosecutors also said that Youngblut has been in "frequent contact" with an individual who was detained during the investigation into the double homicide.
That individual is also a person of interest in a murder investigation in Vallejo, California, federal prosecutors said. No other details were provided.
Prosecutors asked a judge to keep Youngblut in jail, alleging that she is a danger to the community and a flight risk. They noted that her primary residence has not been established, and her ties to Vermont are unclear.
"An originally peaceful interaction between the United States Border Patrol and the occupants of a vehicle became confrontational based on the defendant’s conduct, and she then unnecessarily and inexplicably escalated to deadly violence," they said in the court filing.
Prosecutors have said that Youngblut and Bauckholt were traveling with a large collection of weapons and tactical gear, including 48 rounds of .380-caliber jacketed hollow point ammunition, a ballistic helmet and night vision equipment.
The pair had been under surveillance by Homeland Security Investigations since Jan. 14, according to court documents.
An employee of a hotel in Lyndonville, Vermont, had contacted law enforcement to report concerns about a man and a woman who had checked into the hotel, the documents say. The woman, later identified as Youngblut, was allegedly seen carrying “an apparent firearm in an exposed carry holster.” Both Bauckholt and Youngblut were wearing “all-black, tactical style clothing with protective equipment,” according to court documents.
When the Toyota Prius they were in was pulled over, Bauckholt, the registered owner of the vehicle, appeared to have an expired visa in a Department of Homeland Security database, according to court documents. But the FBI has said that Bauckholt was actually on a current visa.
