Federal investigators say a southern Arizona man shot by Border Patrol agents early Tuesday could face federal charges.
Heith Janke, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Phoenix office, said Patrick Gary Shlegel fled from Border Patrol agents after they tried to stop his truck for suspected human smuggling closer to the U.S-Mexico border.
“While reacting to an active alien smuggling matter, CBP agents came into contact with the subject. During the attempt to apprehend him, the subject used a firearm to shoot at a manned CBP helicopter,” he said during a press briefing at the Pima County Sheriff’s Department headquarters Tuesday evening.
Janke said Border Patrol agents shot Shlegel during a foot pursuit that followed. He was airlifted to Banner University Medical Center in Tucson, where authorities say he underwent surgery and is in stable but serious condition.
Janke said Shlegel could face federal charges, including assault on a federal officer and human smuggling, and that no Border Patrol agents were injured during the encounter.
Court records show Shlegel, a U.S. citizen and resident of the town of Sahuarita, had a warrant out for his arrest last year, after he failed to return to an institutional facility where he was serving a 36-month sentence for another human smuggling charge.
