ARIVACA, AZ (AZFamily) —A human trafficking suspect is in the hospital after a shootout with Border Patrol agents near the U.S.-Mexico border in southern Arizona Tuesday morning.
Authorities said the shooting happened just after 7:30 a.m. along Arivaca Road, northwest of Rio Rico in the southern portion of Pima County. Arivaca is a community about 10 miles from the border and about 35 miles south of Tucson.
According to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, Border Patrol agents recognized the suspect’s car, which was believed to be tied to a human trafficking case. At that point, the agent tried to pull the suspect over, but the suspect got out of his car and started running.
Nanos said the federal agent then chased after him, but the suspect began shooting toward the agent, the sheriff said. At that point, the agent returned fire, striking the suspect.
Authorities said the suspect was being treated at a southern Arizona hospital, where he was listed as being in serious but stable condition. Neither the federal agent nor any other law enforcement member was hurt, Nanos confirmed.
The suspect’s name has not yet been released.
“We are working in coordination with the FBI Phoenix-Tucson office and U.S. Customs and Border Protection,” said Nanos in a social media statement shortly after the shooting was reported.
This is the 10th shooting involving law enforcement so far this year in Arizona, and the second reported in southern Arizona on Tuesday. Shortly after midnight, an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper was involved in a shooting near Interstate 10 and Speedway Boulevard in Tucson.
Border Patrol agents fired weapons in eight incidents during the 12-month period through September 2025, 14 times during the year before that and 13 times the year before that, according to AP records.
The area where the shooting occurred is a common path for drug smugglers and migrants who illegally cross the border, so agents regularly patrol there.
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