Relative Says Suspects Thought ICE/HSI Agent was there to "Break In" Home

An agent for ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in south Texas was shot Tuesday morning while conducting surveillance in a criminal investigation.  The special agent was shot shortly before 4 a.m. while driving off road in an unmarked SUV.

The shooting occurred in Hidalgo County, Texas, which is near the Mexican border and a known drug-trafficking route.

The agent, identified as Kelton Harrison, is listed in stable condition at a nearby hospital.  Harrison, 32, had surgery for two gunshot wounds to the abdomen on Tuesday. His condition is improving.

A father and two sons admit they shot at the HSI agent after he parked outside their home along the Texas border this week because they were afraid someone was going to break in, a relative told The Monitor Rio Grande Valley newspaper.

Pedro Alvarez and his sons, ages 18 and 16, fired at Harrison’s vehicle and chased the agent as he sped away. Prosecutors say Harrison had been watching for an anticipated drug deal.  “They thought it was somebody breaking in,” Ramirez said. “The ICE didn’t identify itself. The kids explained what they did.”

Alvarez, 41, and his 18-year-old son, Arnoldo Alvarez, are charged in U.S. District Court with assault of a federal officer and knowingly using and carrying a firearm during a violent crime. His younger son has been charged with attempted capital murder in a state district court.

A criminal complaint alleges that the 16-year-old, whose identity is being withheld because of his age, fired about six shots from a .22 caliber rifle and that Arnoldo Alvarado fired “numerous” shots from a 9mm handgun as they rode in a vehicle being driven by their father. The vehicle had its headlights off in the pre-dawn darkness as it drove by Harrison, according to the complaint filed in Federal Court.

After being shot, Harrison was able to drive for several miles while the three allegedly followed, continuing to fire before the agent lost control of his sport utility vehicle. Other agents arrived on the scene, and one rushed Harrison to the hospital, where he underwent surgery.

Carlos Ramirez, the boys’ uncle, told a newspaper that Alvarez’s two sons “got scared” the night of the shooting. “They ain’t bad boys, that’s for sure,” Ramirez said. “The only thing they did was play football.”

The shooting happened near Hargill, about 25 miles northeast of the U.S.-Mexico border town of McAllen. According to the criminal complaint, Arnoldo Alvarado told authorities that his father spotted what he considered a suspicious vehicle and told him and the other teen “to get the guns.”

Alvarez and his sons remain in custody pending detention hearings.