Yuma Air Branch helicopter targeted with pyrotechnic; Arivaca suspect wounded

Patrick Gary Schlegel, 34, of Sahuarita was struck by return fire and flown by medevac to a local hospital after exchanging gunfire with U.S. Border Patrol agents and firing at an Air and Marine Operations helicopter near milepost 15 of West Arivaca Road, Pima County authorities said. The shooting took place shortly after 7 a.m. during an attempted traffic stop and left the suspect initially in critical condition; Local3news later reported he was “serious but stable” after surgery.

Federal agents tried to stop a pickup near Arivaca and the driver did not comply, then exited and fled on foot before opening fire at agents and the federal helicopter overhead, according to CNN and multiple local reports. Border Patrol agents returned fire and struck the driver; Santa Rita Fire District said the man “was treated at the scene and taken to a local hospital in a medical helicopter.”

Pima County Sheriff’s Department identified the wounded man as Patrick Gary Schlegel and said he had an active federal arrest warrant. Heith Janke, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Phoenix division, said Schlegel had an active federal arrest warrant “for escape related to a previous federal alien smuggling conviction.”

Investigations into the Arivaca shooting are multiagency. The FBI described the incident as an “alleged assault on a federal officer,” and the bureau requested that the Pima County Sheriff’s Department lead the use-of-force inquiry involving the agent while the FBI conducts a parallel investigation, according to KWWL and CNN. U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility is also examining the shooting. Local reporting said no federal agents were injured.

The Arivaca community, roughly 600 people, about an hour south of Tucson and roughly 10 miles north of the border, was the scene of the early-morning confrontation that federal and local officials say involved a suspect who had prior federal smuggling-related convictions. Some outlets reported the sheriff described the man as suspected of involvement in human trafficking; that allegation remains a law-enforcement assertion pending formal charges.

Separately, Yuma County law enforcement reported a Feb. 17 incident in Yuma in which a Yuma Air Branch helicopter on routine patrol was targeted with a bird-control pyrotechnic. Yuma County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Border Patrol agents responded after the suspect attempted to hide a license plate, and the FBI is now handling prosecution of that case, authorities said. The Yuma report did not include a suspect name, injuries, or damage details.

The incidents come amid broader CBP statistics showing increased use-of-force reports in the Tucson sector, 106 incidents last year and 27 so far this year, a data point federal agencies cited in regional reporting as they continue separate probes into both the Arivaca shooting and the Yuma pyrotechnic targeting.