BS BULLETIN:
-
An off-duty ICE agent was shot in Fresno, California, after police say he attacked a 72-year-old man and his daughter outside their home.
-
The agent, David Gonzalez, 32, allegedly appeared intoxicated after being discovered sleeping on the family’s lawn.
-
The homeowner faces no charges. Gonzalez was hospitalized in serious condition and taken into custody on felony assault allegations.
A 72-year-old California man went outside to remove a stranger sleeping on his daughter’s front lawn. Minutes later, the stranger had been shot, handcuffed and identified as a federal immigration agent.
And according to Fresno police, the elderly homeowner isn’t the one facing criminal charges.
The bizarre confrontation unfolded around 3:20 a.m. Friday when a woman returned to her Fresno home and discovered an unfamiliar man sleeping in the yard. She alerted her father, who went outside and asked the stranger to leave.
Police identified the man as David Gonzalez, 32, an off-duty Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent from Texas.
When awakened, Gonzalez appeared intoxicated and agitated, according to investigators. Instead of leaving, police say Gonzalez attacked the 72-year-old, knocking him to the ground and causing several visible injuries.
The man’s daughter rushed to help her father. Gonzalez allegedly attacked her, too, knocking her down.
That’s when the father pulled a legally possessed firearm and fired a single shot, striking Gonzalez in the abdomen.
The story then took another unusual turn. The daughter called her boyfriend, who happens to be an off-duty police officer. He arrived and placed Gonzalez in handcuffs. Responding Fresno officers found the wounded federal agent restrained at the scene. He was transported to a hospital in serious condition and placed in custody on felony assault allegations.
Investigators say the homeowner acted out of fear for his safety and his daughter’s. He is not facing charges. Police have not determined why Gonzalez, who was off-duty and alone, was sleeping in that particular neighborhood.
The Department of Homeland Security referred questions about the incident to Fresno police.
The shooting has already prompted political reaction.
Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi called for ICE to suspend its operations in the Central Valley, citing concerns about federal enforcement activity.
But investigators have not connected Gonzalez’s alleged conduct to an immigration operation. Police say he was off-duty when the confrontation occurred.
The case remains under investigation.
