One person was shot and is in stable but critical condition in a shooting involving Border Patrol agents near the US-Mexico border, authorities in Arizona said on Tuesday.
Authorities said federal agents were attempting to apprehend a 34-year-old Arizona man suspected of human trafficking during a traffic stop near Arivaca, a community about 16 kilometres from the border.
The man, identified as Patrick Gary Schlegel, fled and shot at a Border Patrol helicopter and at agents, to which the agents returned fire, striking the man and wounding him, according to FBI special agent Heith Janke. Schlegel was transported to a hospital and was recovering from surgery Tuesday evening.
Agents had attempted to stop the same vehicle earlier that morning, but the occupants drove away. When a Border Patrol agent spotted the car again later that morning and tried to stop it, the driver fled on foot.
Schlegel had escaped a halfway house in December where he had been incarcerated for a previous human smuggling and firearms conviction and was subject to an arrest warrant.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said the Border Patrol agent involved in the shootout "acted lawfully," based on information available at this time.
“The investigation is still ongoing. There may be other things that show up,” Nanos added.
Nanos was unsure if there was body camera footage from the shooting. He said there was a video, but was unsure where it came from.
The incident comes after angry protests erupted in Minneapolis after the fatal shooting by immigration agents of 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti on Saturday.
The death of Pretti was the second fatal shooting of a US citizen by immigration officers in Minneapolis in less than three weeks.
US President Donald Trump said on Monday his administration is "reviewing everything" following the shooting.
Parents decry 'sickening lies'
Video verified by US media showed agents shooting Pretti seconds after spraying him with a chemical irritant and throwing him to the icy ground.
The footage shows Pretti never drew a weapon, contradicting administration officials who described him as an "assassin" who had assaulted federal agents and was found with a pistol.
Pretti's parents condemned what they called "sickening lies" about their son in a statement issued Saturday.
The shootings occurred during "Operation Metro Surge," which has deployed thousands of federal immigration agents to the heavily Democratic city for weeks.
Trump has blamed the deaths on Minnesota's Democratic leadership, including Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, calling the situation "Democrat ensued chaos."
