Step.- An off-duty Border Patrol agent attempted to disarm a man at an east El Paso taco shop when he was shot by a fleeing suspect early Saturday morning. Matthew 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 an online GoFundMe fundraising page. .
Ross was injured during a fight with another man around 2:45 am Saturday outside Taqueria El Cometa at 9529 Viscount Blvd. off Interstate 10, an El Paso Police (EPPD) spokesman said. The restaurant is open until 4 am and is a popular late-night dining spot.
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. By Monday, the Page had already surpassed its $10,000 goal, with more than $16,500 in donations, a day after it was created.
No arrests had been announced as of Monday afternoon, as police detectives from the Crimes Against Persons Unit continued their investigation. Police officials have not released details about what led up to the altercation or the name of the injured man. According to an account described in the online fundraiser for Ross, shortly after the agent arrived at the restaurant, some customers started an argument and then a fight. One of the arguing men left but returned a short time later, standing outside a window as he held a gun.
“Without hesitation, Matthew Ross attempted to intervene to prevent the individual from harming those he was arguing with along with possibly other bystanders in the busy restaurant,” the fundraiser states.
Ross quickly got up from his seat, got out, and attempted to “disable” the man with the gun, wrestling him from behind. During the fight, Ross was shot in the upper left chest, the fundraiser claims.
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