Border Patrol agents in Texas exchange gunfire with suspected smugglers

US border agents in gunfight with suspected cartel members

FOX News' Aishah Hasnie reports from Mission, Texas, after Border Patrol agents were confronted by armed smugglers.

MISSION, Texas - Two Border Patrol agents engaged in a shootout with suspected smugglers along the U.S.-Mexico border this week in an incident that has left one of them shaken up, sources told Fox News on Friday.

A Border Patrol incident report obtained by Fox News says the two agents on ATVs were patrolling a cornfield in Weslaco around 9 p.m. Wednesday when "upon [an] encounter of at least two subjects, they observed one subject with a firearm and saw the flash of the fired shot."

"Agents returned fire and pursued subjects south toward the Rio Grande River," the report continued. "Agents and unknown subjects exchanged fire at least once more near the river road."

The Border Patrol agents were uninjured in the gunfire. It’s not clear if the other individuals were struck, the report added.

Sources tell Fox News that a Border Patrol tactical team responded to the scene and federal authorities are investigating, as well.

The sources described the incident as highly unusual, as cartel smugglers typically avoid targeting Border Patrol agents. The sources said its likely the smugglers were trying to traffic an important individual or high-value narcotics.

Get updates on this story at FOXNews.com.