Illegal Immigrant Attacks Border Patrol Agent With Lawnmower Blade

An illegal immigrant from Mexico allegedly swore at an El Centro Sector Border Patrol agent before attacking her with a broken lawnmower blade. The agent sustained minor injuries.

A Calexico Station agent was patrolling the border fence when a man approached her duty vehicle Tuesday morning. The man got closer to her, and allegedly yelled “f--- you!” before throwing the lawnmower blade at her. The blade hit the closed window of the car and shattered it. The agent raised her hand, in an attempt to stop it from hitting her head.

In her statement, the agent told the FBI that she was in her marked patrol vehicle near 1^st Street in Calexico, California, when the man approached her and pulled a steel blade and threw it directly at her head.

The assault resulted in the agent sustaining some minor injuries to her hand and face. As the attacker tried to flee, the agent ran behind him and with the help of other agents, was able to catch the man. The attacker was identified as 33-year-old Josue Gomez-Reyes, an illegal immigrant from Mexico. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection also alleged that he is a gang member. The name of the gang was not revealed.

Border Patrol officers told the media that the tattoos on his body suggested some affiliation with the Surenos gang; this was neither confirmed nor denied since it is still under investigation.

Gomez-Reyes was taken into FBI custody and he told them that he knew the victim was an agent and it was his intention to cause her harm. He stated that he chose the blade instead of a rock since he thought “it would be more effective.” He also told the FBI that he had illegally entered the U.S. from Mexico on March 3, and wanted to get arrested and sent to jail. He also has a long criminal and immigration record.

“It is unacceptable for our Border Patrol agents to come under such a violent attack, but I am extremely proud of the quick determination of our agent to give chase and arrest her attacker. Our agent was ambushed while faithfully carrying out her sworn duties as a law enforcement officer by a gang member with a lengthy criminal history here in the United States. Anytime a person chooses to attack a Border Patrol agent, they will know that they are going up against a highly trained professional and that once arrested, they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” El Centro Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez said in a statement.

The name of the officer who was attacked has not been released and she is said to be in stable condition.

In a similar incident in December, 2018, a 19-year-old Mexican man was arrested after he assaulted a U.S. Federal agent. The man attacked a Tucson Sector Border Patrol agent in the south of Bisbee, Arizona. The officer was responding to a call of possible illegal immigrant activity near a residential area and when he tried to arrest the man, he fought back and struck the agent on his head with a rock. The man fled the scene but was was caught by Border Patrol agents, with the help of Air and Marine Operations assets and night vision technology. He was processed for immigration violations and charged with assault on a Federal agent.