FILE: An Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent prepares to arrest people accused of immigration violations at Fresh Mark in Salem, Ohio, on June 19, 2018.
FILE: An Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent prepares to arrest people accused of immigration violations at Fresh Mark in Salem, Ohio, on June 19, 2018.
An off-duty federal immigration officer was shot early Friday morning after he passed out drunk on a Fresno lawn and then assaulted a homeowner, according to the Fresno Police Department. The shooting happened in the midst of an increased immigration enforcement campaign that’s brought fear across California’s Central Valley.
The officer is receiving medical attention and is facing felony assault charges.
According to Fresno police, the altercation occurred after a woman returned home early Friday morning to find a man passed out on her front lawn, according to a news release. The man was later determined to be David Gonzalez, 32, an off-duty Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, police said.
The woman told her 72-year-old father who lives in the home, and he tried to move Gonzalez off their property, but when the man was awakened, he “appeared intoxicated and agitated,” and a struggle ensued, the news release said. Gonzalez then allegedly assaulted the father, sending him to the ground, and allegedly assaulted the daughter. The 72-year-old man then pulled out a gun and fired a single shot, police said.
The daughter’s boyfriend, an off-duty police officer, then arrived and put Gonzalez in handcuffs until officers arrived. The Fresno Police Department received multiple 911 calls at approximately 3:19 a.m. about a single shot being fired. The department said the 72-year-old homeowner was in legal possession of the firearm and is not facing charges, while Gonzalez is facing charges of felony assault.
Fresno city council member Miguel Arias told SFGATE in a Friday afternoon interview that the ICE officer had also pulled out a gun.
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“The ICE agent pulled a weapon out, and the homeowner won the battle and shot the ICE agent,” Arias said.
The Fresno Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation that Gonzalez pulled out a gun. The Department of Homeland Security also did not immediately respond to an SFGATE request for comment.
The early Friday morning shooting comes as the Trump administration pursues an increased immigration enforcement operation in the Central Valley in the weeks leading up to the midterm election. Arias said ICE agents have been staging enforcement out of the neighborhood Gonzalez was shot in, which he said was the most politically liberal in the city.
“These agents are from Texas and Arizona,” Arias said. “I suspect they were out partying last night, ended up drunk in the city and this happens. This is the most progressive part of our city and they were using this area as a deployment center. They have been trying to create the most fear possible.”
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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