Murder suspect arrested last second at airport departure gates in attempt to flee to El Salvador

A murder suspect was arrested at the last second by police while he waited at the airport departure gate as he was about to flee to El Salvador, authorities said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested fleeing murder suspect Christofer Antonio Argueta Ramirez at Washington Dulles International Airport early Sunday morning as he prepared to board a flight to El Salvador, police said.

“CBP officers noticed that Argueta Ramirez had purchased a one-way ticket on an El Salvador-bound flight that was departing from Dulles airport around 1:30 a.m.,” according to a statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “Officers encountered Argueta Ramirez at the departure gate, verified Argueta Ramirez’s identity, took him into custody, and escorted him back to CBP’s inspection station.”

Argueta Ramirez, 19, of Woodbridge, Va., is a U.S. citizen and was wanted in Prince William County, Va., for homicide murder, officials said.

“Customs and Border Protection officers encounter all types of travelers arriving to and departing from the United States, including travelers wanted for allegedly committing seriously heinous offenses,” said Marc E. Calixte, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C. “CBP continues to work with our law enforcement partners to help capture dangerous fugitives and to return them to face justice.”

Customs officers immediately turned Ramirez over to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police officers and he was taken into custody.

CBP processes an average of more than one million arriving travelers every day at airports, seaports and land border crossings across the country and arrest an average of 44 wanted people every day, officials said.

The investigation into Ramirez is currently ongoing.