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A Fresno family found an allegedly intoxicated off-duty ICE agent asleep on their front lawn, shooting and handcuffed him after he attacked them while refusing to leave.
David Gonzalez, 32, of Texas, was discovered by police detained and with a gunshot wound to the stomach around 3:20 a.m. Friday in the area of East Dudley and North Broadway Street.
It’s unclear why the the off-duty agent decided to pass out on the family’s lawn, but he allegedly responded with hostility after they tried to wake him.
Police determined that a woman discovered Gonzalez on her lawn after returning home and told her 72-year-old father, who urged the man to leave.
Gonzalez then allegedly resisted, forcing the elderly man to the ground. When the daughter intervened, Gonzalez also allegedly attacked her.
The 72-year-old then allegedly pulled out a gun and shot Gonzalez in the stomach. The woman’s boyfriend, an off-duty cop, then arrived and handcuffed Gonzalez.
The agent, who ICE says was off-duty at the time, was taken to the hospital and is expected to be booked into the Fresno County jail.
Gonzalez has been charged with felony vandalism and battery.
ICE told YourCentralValley.com that it is “referring inquiries regarding this incident to the Fresno Police Department.” Officials added that the ICE agent was alone at the time.
Fresno police told the outlet the elderly man is not facing charges for shooting the man. They added that the 72-year-old legally owned the firearm.
The incident stunned the local community.
“This is an example of an innocent life being put at risk because you have irresponsible adults with guns and intoxicated. The fact that they are drinking and getting drunk in the neighborhoods in which they are terrorizing is just so stupid,” Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias said.
“I’m more worried about the fact that we have federal agents that are getting insanely drunk and then passing out on random citizens’ lawns and then being woken up by them and trying to attack them,” a local resident added.
Fresno is the largest city in California’s Central Valley.
The California Post contacted ICE and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
