A Border Patrol agent was trying to arrest a migrant smuggling suspect when his gun fired, striking the man in the arm.
Ronaldo Ledezma-Avila was treated at a hospital and released, and faces smuggling charges.
Mr. Ledezma-Avila had refused to pull over for agents and even drove after having his tires spiked, authorities said in court documents detailing the incident, which happened Sunday evening.
Given his flight, when his Chrysler 300 finally did come to a stop, agents approached in what was described in court documents as a “high-risk approach.” One of the agents “had an accidental discharge of his weapon,” according to Homeland Security Investigations Agent Jorge D. Rodriguez.
A bullet came through the windshield and impacted Mr. Ledezma-Avila’s arm, according to one of the illegal immigrants nabbed in the smuggling event.
Customs and Border Protection said the bullet grazed Mr. Ledezma-Avila’s arm.
“One subject was injured and transported to a hospital by EMS and four individuals were taken into Border Patrol custody,” the agency said in a statement.
The FBI, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office and CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility all showed up at the scene. OPR is reviewing the incident.
Border Patrol agents first flagged the vehicle as suspicious because it was registered to a Phoenix address but was seen in a remote area of southern Arizona. They initially saw just a single occupant, but when they spotted it again a couple hours later it had more people, who appeared to be slumping down to avoid being seen.
When the vehicle began to swerve on the road, agents tried to make a vehicle stop, but the Chrysler sped away, blowing through a Border Patrol checkpoint. Agents deployed a spike strip which struck the tires, but the vehicle drove another mile before finally disabling.
After agents approached, and the gun fired, agents said they found Mr. Ledezma-Avila, a Mexican citizen, and four illegal immigrants whom he was driving.
Among them were two Guatemalans. One was going to pay $11,000 to be smuggled into the U.S. and the other owed $10,000, with $7,000 of that already paid upfront.
Court documents said Mr. Ledezma-Avila admitted he was smuggling illegal immigrants.
He said he was recruited on Snapchat, where he saw a post looking for drivers. He knew it was to smuggle illegal immigrants because it included a chicken emoji, and “pollos” — the Spanish word for chickens — is often used as slang for illegal immigrants.
Mr. Ledezma-Avila said he was going to be paid $1,200 for each person transported.
He told investigators that he knew agents were trying to pull him over, but he had intended to get away, until his tires were spiked.