By Steve Neavling
El Paso police have arrested a 17-year-old man accused of shooting an off-duty Border patrol agent outside of a taco restaurant over the weekend.
Brandon Jacob Perez faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for the shooting of 38-year-old Agent Matthew Ross, who was trying to disarm Perez at about 2:45 a.m. Saturday, The El Paso Times reports.
Authorities allege Perez, a high school senior, was wielding a pistol following a confrontation with other customers at Taqueria El Cometa on El Paso’s east side.
A judge issued Perez a $100,000 bond. As of Thursday, he was lodged in the El Paso County Jail.
Ross was in stable condition at a hospital earlier this week with a punctured lung and broke rib from a gunshot wound.
A GoFundMe campaign was created to raise money for Ross. As of Friday morning, the fundraiser had collected nearly $19,000, exceeding the goal of $10,000.
Ross is a member of the Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR).
