Man wounded after exchanging gunfire with Border Patrol agents near US-Mexico border

ARIVACA, Ariz. (AP) — A man who authorities say was involved in a smuggling operation was shot Tuesday in an exchange of gunfire with the U.S. Border Patrol and after firing at a federal helicopter near the U.S.-Mexico border, authorities said.

Federal agents were attempting to apprehend the 34-year-old Arizona man near Arivaca, Arizona, when he shot at a Border Patrol helicopter and at agents, the FBI said. Agents returned fire, striking the man and wounding him, the FBI said.

The man was transported to a hospital and was recovering from surgery Tuesday evening, authorities said.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said the FBI asked it to lead a use-of-force investigation of the Border Patrol. It noted that such investigations are standard when a federal agency is involved in a shooting in the county.

FBI special agent Heith Janke said suspect Patrick Gary Schlegel has a criminal history that includes a 2025 warrant for escape stemming from a smuggling conviction.

Hagle was in federal custody and is expected to be charged with a criminal complaint, Janke said.

Arivaca is a community about 10 miles from the border. The area is a common path for drug smugglers and migrants who illegally cross the border, so agents regularly patrol there.

The Santa Rita Fire District said it responded to the shooting and the person who was wounded was in custody.

“Patient care was transferred to a local medical helicopter for rapid transport to a regional trauma center,” the fire district said.

One level-one trauma center hospital in Tucson declined to release information, and the AP was waiting on a response from another.

The shooting comes in a month that has seen three shootings — two fatal — by immigration officers involved in the massive Department of Homeland Security enforcement operation in Minnesota.

While there were numerous videos of those shootings taken by residents monitoring the enforcement operations in the Minneapolis area, the latest shooting in Arizona happened in a community of about 500 people apparently without any bystander video of the incident.

The sheriff department said its involvement in the investigation was the result of “long standing relationships” built over time in the border area to promote transparency.

Sheriff Chris Nanos, a Democrat, has previously said his agency will not enforce federal immigration law amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown and that he will use his limited resources to focus on local crime and other public safety issues.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to emails and telephone calls seeking more information.

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.

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