CA Sheriff Says Previously Deported Illegal Immigrant Shot Deputy

Honsal said the outcome was “very lucky” because the female deputy who was shot could have been killed if the shot had struck her a few inches away.

Hugo Parral-Aguirre (Photo: Humboldt County SO)Hugo Parral-Aguirre (Photo: Humboldt County SO)

The man suspected of shooting a three-year Humboldt County, CA, sheriff’s deputy in the left shoulder with a 12-gauge shotgun at a Ferndale dairy farm early Sunday morning was a Mexican national here illegally who was previously deported in 2015, according to Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal.

At a press conference Monday morning, Honsal said both the injured deputy, whose name is not being released at this time, and the suspect Hugo Parral-Aguirre, 30, are in stable condition and are no longer in the hospital. Hugo had three gunshot wounds after two deputies returned fire, Honsal said.

Honsal said the outcome was “very lucky” because the female deputy who was shot could have been killed if the shot had struck her a few inches away, the Times-Standard reports.

Sunday’s incident began shortly after midnight after a neighbor reported a dispute between two men in Ferndale, Honsal said. A deputy and a sheriff’s sergeant arrived on scene shortly before 12:50 a.m. in marked vehicles and approached a small barn-like structure on the property, according to Honsal. A woman then ran out of the door of the residence saying she had been held against her will by Parral-Aguirre, who was allegedly trespassing, Honsal said. Investigators later learned that Parral-Aguirre had allegedly attempted to shoot the woman’s boyfriend earlier that evening, according to Honsal.

The deputy and sergeant drew their guns when they saw Parral-Aguirre in the barn, Honsal said. After both ordered Parral-Aguirre to drop his weapon, the suspect allegedly fired one round from a 12-gauge shotgun, striking the deputy in her left shoulder above her ballistic vest, according to Honsal. Both the deputy and sergeant returned fire while finding cover for both themselves and the woman at the scene, Honsal said. Parral-Aguirre was shot three times during the exchange of gunfire, Honsal said.

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