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Texas governor condemns stray bullets fired across U.S. border

By the CNN Wire Staff
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'Major gun battle' at Mexican border
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: Gov. Rick Perry wants the White House to deploy more resources to the border
  • A bullet lodged in a Texas university's building may be linked to a Mexico gunfight
  • No injuries were reported on the El Paso campus
  • The gun battle took place 30 yards from El Paso, police say
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    (CNN) -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry called on the Obama administration Monday to deploy more resources to the United States' border with Mexico, two days after a bullet -- likely from a gun battle between drug traffickers and Mexican police -- struck an El Paso building.

    It's the second time in two months that bullets from shootouts across the border have strayed into Texas, Perry said.

    "By the grace of God, the stray bullets from these incidents have yet to injure or kill a Texan," he said. "It is unconscionable that the Obama administration is gambling with American lives, betting that escalating violence from these cartels won't eventually shed the blood of innocent people on U.S. soil."

    In Saturday's incident, a bullet struck a building on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso, the university's President Diana Natalicio said. No injuries were reported at the school.

    That same evening, a "major gun battle" between drug traffickers and Mexican authorities broke out in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, just 30 yards from the U.S. border at El Paso, a U.S. Border Patrol spokesman said.

    Three police officers were injured and one armed suspect was killed in the clash, Mexican federal police spokesman Ramon Salinas said.

    The bullet found at the university likely came from the shootout, border patrol spokesman Ramiro Cordero said.

    "We must ensure El Paso and other border communities remain a safe place for people to live, work and raise a family," Perry said. "It's time for Washington to stop the rhetoric and immediately deploy a [significant] force of personnel and resources to the border to protect our homeland."

    During Saturday's clash, U.S. authorities blocked off a four-mile section of Paisano Street, which runs parallel to the Rio Grande, the international border.

    Cordero said the closing was the first time authorities have been forced to take such action due to activity across the border.

    Natalicio said the university will consult with law enforcement and government officials about possible further security precautions.

    Cordero said his agency doesn't plan to change its security methods, saying border patrol agents are still maintaining the integrity of the border and operating as usual.

    The shootout took place less than two months after shots fired from a gun battle originating in Juarez crossed into El Paso and hit City Hall, damaging the building.

    CNN's Nick Valencia and Rick Martin contributed to this report.