In a dramatic encounter on Tuesday morning, an Arizona man, suspected of smuggling illegal immigrants, found himself in a gunfight with federal officers. This confrontation unfolded after the man allegedly opened fire on a law enforcement helicopter, as reported by authorities.
The incident occurred around 7:30 a.m. in the vicinity of Arivaca, Arizona, a location just a few miles from the southern border. The sequence of events began when law enforcement agents identified a vehicle linked to a suspect from a human trafficking case earlier that day. During the initial traffic stop related to this case, all occupants of the vehicle had fled the scene, according to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos.
Several hours following the initial stop, agents once again spotted the same vehicle and initiated another traffic stop. This time, the suspect, 34-year-old Patrick Gary Schlegel, abandoned the vehicle and attempted to escape on foot, Nanos explained.
Meanwhile, U.S. Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue (BORSTAR) agents from the Tucson Sector, along with Air and Marine Operations (AMO), were engaged in a demonstration of rescuing a migrant lost in the Brown Canyon desert near Sasabe, Arizona. This demonstration underscored the ongoing challenges faced by border patrol agents in the region. The events on Tuesday led to a broader investigation into the shooting involving Border Patrol in Arizona.
According to Heith Janke, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Phoenix Division, Schlegel allegedly fired shots at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) helicopter and at agents on the ground. A spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to Fox News Digital that, “The individual fired at an Air and Marine Operations helicopter and fired at USBP agents.” This prompted the agents to return fire, ultimately striking the suspect.
“The individual fired at an Air and Marine Operations helicopter and fired at USBP agents,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Agents returned fire striking the driver.”
Schlegal, a U.S. citizen from Arizona, was rendered aid and taken to a hospital where he was recovering after undergoing surgery. He is expected to survive. No one else was harmed, authorities said.
Schlegal has a “significant criminal history,” Janke said, which includes an active federal arrest warrant issued in 2025 by the U.S. Marshals Service for an escape related to a previous federal alien smuggling conviction.
He is expected to be charged federally with assault on a federal officer, alien smuggling, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, authorities said.
This photo shows a US Border Patrol patch on a border agent’s uniform in McAllen, Texas, on January 15, 2019. (SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images)
Nanos said he wasn’t sure if the Border Patrol agents involved in the shooting were wearing body cameras. He said multiple shots were fired, but was not sure how many.
“In Pima County, we’re not tolerating any abuse of a law enforcement officer… any type of abuse, but that goes for our citizens as well,” the sheriff said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the fire district, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Homeland Security.
The sheriff’s department is conducting a parallel investigation and is leading the use-of-force investigation involving the agent, officials told the news outlet.
“Such requests are standard practice when a federal agency is involved in a shooting incident within Pima County and consistent with long-standing relationships built through time to promote transparency,” PCSD said.
Tuesday’s shooting was the second involving Border Patrol personnel in recent days. Alex Pretti, 37, was fatally shot by USBP agents during a confrontation in Minnesota as federal authorities were conducting enforcement operations.
It also came weeks after Renee Good was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent while allegedly attempting to ram him with her vehicle in Minneapolis.
Both deaths have triggered citywide protests and unrest, and violent confrontations between federal authorities and anti-ICE agitators.
In Pima County, Nanos said his department doesn’t enforce immigration law. Border Patrol agents fired weapons in eight incidents during the 12-month period through September 2025, 14 times during the year before that and 13 times the year before that, according to The Associated Press.
