Suspect Identified and in Custody in Ferndale Area Officer Involved Shooting

Ferndale, Ca., (KIEM)- Just after midnight Sunday morning two Humboldt County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a call on Coppini Road, just outside of the Ferndale city limits. They’d been called to end a reported conflict between two non-English speakers.

When they arrived in uniform and marked patrol vehicles they say they found Hugo Aguirre, a Mexican National, armed and holding a hostage inside a barn. Aguirre opened fire, shooting one deputy in the shoulder just above their bullet proof vest. Deputies moved the female hostage to safety.

Later SWAT teams located Aguirre on the bottom floor of a home on the same property. He put up a fight, according to Sheriff William Honsal but was taken into custody. He had been shot three times, and was taken to the hospital. He’s now been released from medical care into custody, and is in the medical unit at the Humboldt County Correctional Facility.

Aguirre was arrested in 2008 for battery in Humboldt County. At that time he was transferred to a federal facility and opted to be deported in 2015. He’s in the country illegally and charged with attempted murder of a peace office and false imprisonment.

An investigation is on-going. In the mean time, all involved deputies have been placed on administrative leave, as they both discharged their weapons.