A U.S. Border Patrol agent shot and wounded a 34-year-old Arizona man on Tuesday morning after the man allegedly fired at agents during a foot pursuit and took shots at a federal helicopter near the U.S.–Mexico line, authorities said. The shooting happened about 7:30 a.m. along West Arivaca Road, roughly 10 miles north of the border. The man was evacuated to a Tucson trauma center and was listed as serious but stable by late Tuesday.
Officials identified the suspect as Patrick Gary Schlegel of Sahuarita and said he had an active arrest warrant tied to an earlier human-smuggling case. The incident is under joint review by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, the FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility. Investigators are piecing together a timeline that began with a vehicle stop attempt, escalated into a chase and ended with gunfire on a rural stretch of desert highway. Authorities said federal assault and firearms charges are expected while they examine video, shell casings and witness accounts to determine exactly how the exchange unfolded.
According to statements summarized by law enforcement, agents first tried to pull over a pickup they believed was linked to smuggling activity in the Arivaca area Tuesday shortly after daybreak. Multiple occupants bolted from the truck and scattered. Later that morning, agents spotted the same vehicle and the driver fled on foot toward low hills and mesquite stands. During the chase, a Customs and Border Protection helicopter arrived overhead. Investigators say the suspect fired at the aircraft and then at pursuing agents. One agent returned fire, hitting Schlegel. No agents were reported injured. “Based on what we know so far, the agent acted lawfully,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said, while cautioning that the inquiry is ongoing. The helicopter landed nearby as ground units moved in to secure the scene and provide medical aid before an airlift.
Heith Janke, the FBI’s special agent in charge in Phoenix, said Schlegel would face a criminal complaint alleging assault on a federal officer, human smuggling and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Court records show Schlegel previously faced smuggling counts in 2023 after authorities said he loaded more than a dozen people into a truck near the border and tried to conceal them under a tarp before fleeing. In a separate matter, officials said he failed to return from a sanctioned release while serving time in a Tucson facility last month, prompting the outstanding escape warrant. Investigators on Tuesday collected the firearm believed to have been used and documented strike marks reported by the helicopter crew. It remains unknown how many rounds were fired or whether additional weapons were present.
Arivaca, a ranching community about 60 miles south of Tucson, sits amid corridors frequently used by smugglers and migrants crossing illegally. Agents patrol the area’s washes and two-lane roads, aided by sensors and air support. Use-of-force incidents involving Border Patrol are relatively infrequent but heightened public attention has followed recent deadly encounters elsewhere this month. Data reported by oversight officials indicate agents discharged firearms in fewer than a dozen incidents last fiscal year across the Southwest. Tuesday’s episode, which did not result in officer injuries, nevertheless triggered the standard multiagency response: a sheriff’s crime-scene team, FBI evidence technicians and CBP internal investigators, each working parallel tracks that will later be compared for consistency.
Sheriff’s officials said the shooting site was near milepost markers on West Arivaca Road, where traffic narrows between rolling hills and ocotillo flats. Investigators marked cartridge casings, bullet impacts and shoe impressions on the shoulder and in soft sand off the pavement. Drones mapped the scene while troopers redirected drivers to side routes. The helicopter crew relayed coordinates and described taking fire before the agent’s shots were fired. Detectives canvassed the area for cameras on ranch gates and vehicles that might show the initial stop attempt. Authorities also interviewed residents who reported hearing a burst of rotor noise followed by several loud cracks and a brief lull before sirens and additional aircraft arrived.
By afternoon, the sheriff’s office said its Criminal Investigations Division had taken the lead on the use-of-force probe at the FBI’s request, a step the county describes as routine for transparency when federal officers fire their weapons locally. CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility opened its administrative review, which runs alongside the criminal investigation and examines whether agents followed policy. The Justice Department will review the FBI’s case file once charges are filed. If prosecutors move forward quickly, Schlegel’s initial appearance would be in U.S. District Court in Tucson, where a magistrate judge would consider detention pending trial and set a date for a preliminary hearing.
Schlegel underwent surgery Tuesday and remained under guard at the hospital, according to officials familiar with the case. Authorities did not release the caliber of the weapon recovered or specify the number of agents involved. It was also unclear how many people fled during the first traffic stop and whether any were later detained. Investigators said they were reviewing earlier pursuits in the same corridor to determine if Tuesday’s events were linked to broader smuggling operations. Agents and deputies returned to the roadside at dusk to complete grid searches for additional evidence and to document lighting, terrain and lines of sight in conditions similar to the morning encounter.
Residents described a heavy response through midday as Border Patrol trucks, sheriff’s units and an ambulance converged from the direction of Amado and Sasabe. A rancher who declined to be named said he watched a helicopter orbit low, then saw vehicles stop near a cattle guard where the road dips. “It got real quiet and then suddenly you heard pops,” he said, recalling that deputies later asked permission to cross a pasture to check for fleeing occupants. A convenience store clerk in town said customers traded updates about road closures and detours while cell service briefly buckled under the surge. By evening, orange evidence flags and chalk marks dotted the shoulder where investigators said the pursuit and gunfire ended.
Law enforcement leaders said they expect preliminary findings on the use of force after interviews are completed with the agent, air crew and witnesses. The sheriff’s office will forward its findings to the county attorney and to federal prosecutors for review, a typical step before any public release of body-worn camera footage or aerial video. CBP said its administrative report will address training, tactics and compliance with policy on pursuits and armed encounters. While officials emphasized that early evidence points to shots being fired at both the helicopter and ground agents before the agent returned fire, they noted that final conclusions will depend on forensic results and synchronized timelines drawn from radio logs and aircraft data.
As of late Tuesday, authorities said Schlegel was in serious but stable condition and under federal custody at the hospital. Investigators planned to process the vehicle believed to be involved and to continue searches in nearby washes at first light Wednesday. Any charging documents are expected to outline the alleged sequence beginning with the attempted stop and ending with the shooting along West Arivaca Road. Officials said they will provide additional updates once interviews are complete and evidence analysis is underway.
Author note: Last updated January 28, 2026.