In 2007, a group of bandits looking to hijack a competitor’s drug load mistakenly opened fire on 23 illegal immigrants, including three small children, hidden in a pickup. The assailants had been camping out in a remote desert area for several days waiting to seize a drug load coming across the border. Three of the illegal border crossers were fatally wounded in the attack. After this incident, the Pima County Sheriff decided his department could no longer stand on the sidelines. Since that time the department has been trying to figure out the best way to get into the fight.