Police Confirm Border Patrol-Involved Shooting in Arizona

One individual is in critical condition following a Border Patrol-involved shooting in Pima County, Arizona, on Tuesday morning.  

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department was called into the federal investigation on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the department told The Daily Signal. 

Local NBC News affiliate News 4 Tucson reports that the same individual who was wounded was also in custody, and received immediate medical attention before being transferred to a local hospital.  

“The FBI office out of Phoenix gave us a call to do our own parallel investigation into an officer’s use of force,” the spokesperson added.  

The FBI said it was investigating an alleged assault on a federal officer near the town of Arivaca in Arizona and that a subject was taken into custody, adding that the investigation remains ongoing. 

Arivaca is about 10 miles from the border of Mexico, 70 miles south of Tucson. It is known as a busy area for illegal alien border crossings, according to Reuters.  

In a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said the incident stemmed from a traffic stop with Border Patrol agents.

The man was suspected for alleged prior involvement in human trafficking, and fled officers on foot.

Heith Janke, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s state office in Phoenix, identified the suspect as Patrick Gary Schlegel, as reported by 13 News Tuscon.

Janke noted that Schlegel fired shots at a pursuing Border Patrol helicopter and that agents pursuing him on foot wounded him in returning fire.

The suspect is at a local hospital in federal custody, in “serious but stable” condition, Janke noted, and will face three charges of assault on a federal officer, alien smuggling, and felon in possession of a firearm.

Reuters contributed to this report.