An off-duty ICE agent was shot and killed after he was found sleeping on a lawn in Fresno and then allegedly attacked a 72-year-old man, authorities said.
The Fresno Police Department said it received multiple reports of shots fired near East Dudley Avenue and North Broadway Street at 3:19 a.m. Friday.
When officers arrived, they found 32-year-old David Gonzalez handcuffed and shot in the abdomen, according to a Fresno police statement.
Fresno police declined an interview request from The Times.
According to their statement, an unnamed woman came home and found Gonzalez – a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent – sleeping on her front lawn. The woman contacted her 72-year-old father, who came outside and took Gonzalez away.
Gonzalez woke up and appeared “intoxicated and agitated,” the statement said. He allegedly assaulted the man, causing multiple apparent injuries.
When the woman tried to intervene, Gonzalez allegedly assaulted her as well, authorities said. Her father, fearing for his and his daughter’s safety, pulled out a gun and shot Gonzalez, the statement said.
The woman’s boyfriend, an off-duty police officer, then handcuffed Gonzalez, the statement said.
Authorities said Gonzalez is from Texas and it’s unclear why he came to Fresno. He was off work and alone when the incident occurred.
Police did not provide further information on the identity of the 72-year-old man. He was described as a “victim” who legally owned the gun he used and is not facing criminal charges.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesman declined to comment Friday night, referring questions to Fresno police.
Fresno officials and residents expressed concern this week over reports of a spike in ICE arrests in the area. About 70 people were detained in Fresno and Madera this week, according to local news site Fresnoland.
“The community deserves safety, dignity and respect, not intimidation, fear and reckless behavior from federal ICE agents,” Fresno City Councilman Miguel Arias said in a Facebook post on Friday after the shooting.
“As many of us have warned, [President] Trump’s ICE is bound to cause someone to get hurt. The danger these aggressive law enforcement tactics pose to our communities should come as no surprise,” he said. “There are serious issues with the screening, qualifications, mental health and accountability of out-of-state ICE officers deployed to our communities. “
Arias told a city council meeting on Thursday that the timing of the arrests was “not a coincidence” because it’s harvest season in Fresno, a major agricultural center.
He went on to call ICE’s activities “basic voter suppression and intimidation of the Latino voter base.”
“This is an attempt to convince people in our community to stay home and not engage in their civic responsibilities and constitutional rights,” Arias said.
Gonzalez, who was being treated, was taken into custody on suspicion of felonious assault, a police statement said. It was unclear from Fresno law enforcement databases whether he had an attorney.