Police arrest El Paso teen accused of shooting Border Patrol agent outside El Cometa

The El Paso police SWAT team on Tuesday arrested a young man accused of shooting and wounding an off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent outside an East Side taco restaurant over the weekend.

Brandon Jacob Perez, 17, allegedly shot Agent Matthew Ross, who was attempting to disarm Perez, who was wielding a pistol after getting into a fight with other customers early Saturday at Taqueria El Cometa on Viscount Boulevard next to Interstate 10, authorities said.

The Special Weapons and Tactics team arrested Perez on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon following an investigation by detectives with the Crimes Against Persons Unit, police officials said Wednesday.

Perez is a senior at Pebble Hills High School with no prior criminal record, court officials said at Thursday morning online teleconference bond hearing for Perez.

A jail log shows Perez, of far East El Paso, is incarcerated at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown.

At Thursday's hearing, Magistrate Judge Ruben Nuñez reduced the bond amount from $150,000 to $100,000 (made up of a $50,000 cash or surety bond and $50,000 personal recognizance). The bond terms include no drugs; no alcohol; no firearms, weapons or ammunition; and a daily curfew of 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., unless working or going to school.

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Under Texas law, defendants 17 years and older are considered adults in the state criminal justice system.

The shooting outside El Cometa is among a surge in gun violence in El Paso and other cities involving teenagers following the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Ross, 38, of El Paso, was hospitalized in stable condition with a gunshot wound to the upper left chest that punctured a lung and broke a rib, according to a GoFundMe online fundraising page created to help him with support and expenses.

About 2:45 a.m. Saturday, Ross was in line after just arriving at the popular late-night restaurant when some customers got into an argument and then a fight. One of the men arguing left but returned a short time later, standing outside a window while holding a pistol, according to the fundraising page and a prosecutor.

In an attempt to prevent a shooting in the busy restaurant, Ross — who was not in uniform — rushed outside and tried to wrestle Perez from behind. During the scuffle, Ross was shot, the fundraiser states. The shooter fled the scene.

The scuffle was recorded by a bystander's cellphone video shared on social media.

Witnesses who accompanied Perez at the restaurant told detectives that he went to confront somebody about cheating before the shooting, Assistant District Attorney Adam Loving said at the bond hearing.

The driver of a car later stopped by police told investigators that Perez came running to the vehicle and told him, "Let’s go." The gun was thrown out a car window as they drove away, Loving said.

Ross is a member of the Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue, a specially-trained special operations unit better known as BORSTAR, according to the fundraising page.

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The fundraising page had collected nearly $19,000 in donations by Thursday morning, surpassing its $10,000 goal. The fundraiser states that Ross is "in overall good spirits" but will have "a road to recovery."

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso teen arrested in Border Patrol agent's shooting at El Cometa