A day after a Border Patrol agent shot a man south of Tucson, KOLD News 13 reporter Kayla Butter delivered a jarring twist that didn’t come from a press conference or a police spokesperson.
It came from the suspect’s own family.
Butter reported that Amber Schlegel, the sister of Patrick Gary Schlegel, watched the reaction online and decided she needed to say something out loud, clearly, and without soft edges.
Her message, as Butter relayed it, was blunt: “He is no victim. He is a violent person.”
That line matters because it cuts straight through the emotional fog that usually follows a use-of-force incident, where people rush to pick sides before they even know the basics.
Butter’s report paints a picture of two things happening at once: a criminal case built around what agents say happened in the desert, and a public argument unfolding online and in protests about what Border Patrol represents.
And right in the middle of it is a sister saying, essentially, “Stop romanticizing my brother.”
A Sister Who Says She’s Not Surprised
Butter told viewers she met Amber Schlegel after the shooting and asked what she thought about her brother being arrested and shot during the encounter.
Amber, according to Butter, said she wasn’t shocked to learn her brother was in trouble again.
Butter described Amber finding out in an ordinary moment—she said she was making lunch when a neighbor called and told her what happened, and Amber recalled “dropping her plate” when she realized the news involved her brother.
That detail sounds small, but it makes the whole thing feel painfully real.
For Amber, this wasn’t politics first. It was family first, and not in the warm, supportive way people usually mean when they say that.
Butter reported that after seeing “mixed emotions” online—people angry at Border Patrol, people defending the suspect, people arguing about immigration—Amber wanted the community to understand that, in her view, sympathy was misplaced.
She said, as Butter quoted her, that her brother “does not need or deserve any sympathy.”
That’s not an easy thing to say about your own sibling, and it suggests Amber believes she has been dealing with the consequences of his behavior for a long time.
What Agents Say They Were Investigating
According to Butter’s reporting, Border Patrol agents said they tried to stop Patrick Schlegel because they suspected him of human trafficking or human smuggling activity.
Butter said charging documents indicate he was found transporting two men into the United States “for money,” and that the situation escalated into a chase and then gunfire.
In cases like this, the public debate often jumps immediately to “Border Patrol good” or “Border Patrol bad,” like there’s no room for anything else.
But Butter’s story, especially with Amber’s quotes, forces a more uncomfortable possibility: that the suspect’s alleged actions can be serious and harmful, even if people also have concerns about how Border Patrol operates.
Those two things can both be true, and pretending otherwise is how people end up defending the indefensible.
Butter also reported Patrick Schlegel is a U.S. citizen and is now facing a federal charge of assault on a federal officer tied to what investigators say happened next.
The Alleged Gunfire And The Shot
Butter reported that the criminal complaint alleges Patrick Schlegel fired at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter that was helping track him down.
That detail is crucial, because it’s the kind of allegation that changes the stakes instantly.
When someone fires toward an aircraft, it’s not a “heated moment” anymore; it becomes a life-or-death threat that can cause catastrophic harm beyond the immediate target.
Amber told Butter that hearing he was “back running illegals again” didn’t surprise her, but hearing he allegedly fired at federal agents did surprise her.
That split reaction is telling.
It suggests she believed she understood the kind of trouble he typically got into, and then this event crossed even her expectations of what he would do.
Butter said the suspect was shot near Arivaca, roughly 30 miles south of Tucson, and that he remained hospitalized in serious but stable condition.
The report didn’t treat the shooting like a victory lap, either. It treated it like what it is: a violent incident with a suspect who survived and will now face the system.
And honestly, that’s the point some people miss when they start cheering or mourning too early – this wasn’t the end of a story, it was the start of a major one.
Amber’s Hardest Point: The Danger To Other People
One of the most striking moments in Butter’s report is that Amber didn’t just criticize her brother for allegedly fighting with law enforcement.
She criticized him for putting other people in danger—specifically, the two men authorities say were being transported.
Butter quoted Amber saying something that cuts against the cruel way immigration debates often sound online: “I don’t care how people feel… they’re people.”
That line lands because it comes from someone who is not trying to defend the operation, but also refuses to dehumanize the people caught up in it.
Amber’s view, as Butter reported it, is that her brother’s alleged behavior wasn’t principled or political. It was selfish.
Butter said Amber believes the smuggling was done strictly for “financial gain,” and she warned that he could have gotten those men killed “with no care.”
That’s the part that should sober up anyone treating this like a team sport.
If the allegation is true, then the people being transported weren’t props in a debate; they were human beings stuck in a dangerous situation created by someone chasing money.
Threats, A Protection Order, And A Family That Feels Unsafe
Butter also reported something that shifts this story from “criminal suspect” to “ongoing personal threat.”
Amber told Butter that after her brother escaped from custody in December, he sent her threatening messages because she spoke out against him online.
Butter said Amber filed an order of protection against her brother.
That is not a casual step.
People don’t usually seek legal protection from a family member unless they genuinely believe harm is possible, and they feel they’re running out of options.
And it adds weight to Amber’s statement that she’s “glad he’s somewhere where he can’t hurt her.”
That’s not ideology. That’s fear.
Butter reported Amber’s closing message was just as unsentimental as her opening one: “He’s where he should be,” she said, adding that whether he recovers or not, he needs to be locked up “for a very long time.”
It’s a brutal thing to hear a sister say, and it also reads like someone who has already spent years watching the same cycle repeat.
The Investigation And The Arguments Around It
Butter said the Pima County Sheriff’s Department is working with the FBI and investigating the incident, and that more information could be released in the coming days.
That matters because use-of-force investigations are exactly where public trust tends to crack.
If people believe the investigation is rushed or one-sided, they assume the result is predetermined. If people believe it’s thorough and independent, it’s easier to accept the outcome even if it’s controversial.
Butter also referenced protests and strong reactions on social media, and her reporting included the reality that some people don’t trust what Border Patrol says, even when details come out later.
That skepticism doesn’t appear out of thin air. It grows from history, from prior incidents, and from the feeling that powerful agencies often get the benefit of the doubt while regular people don’t.
But there’s a second truth here too, and it’s uncomfortable for activists and critics: when the allegations involve smuggling for profit and firing at a federal helicopter, defending the suspect without evidence isn’t justice – it’s denial.
It also risks turning legitimate concerns about enforcement into something that looks like a blanket excuse for violence.
A Messy Story With No Easy Hero
Butter’s report is compelling because it refuses to fit neatly into a single political box.
A man is shot by a Border Patrol agent. People protest. People argue. Social media explodes.
Then the suspect’s sister steps forward and says, plainly, “Stop pretending this guy is harmless.”
If you’re looking for a simple hero-villain story, this isn’t it.
If the complaint’s allegations are accurate, then Patrick Schlegel wasn’t a misunderstood bystander caught in a bad moment; he was a person accused of endangering others for money and escalating into gunfire.
And if Amber’s account is accurate, he was also a threat in his own family’s life long before the desert encounter.
At the same time, none of this erases the need for a serious, transparent investigation into what happened when the agent fired and why, because that’s what due process looks like when the state uses force.
In the end, Butter didn’t just report a shooting. She reported a collision between public outrage, law enforcement narratives, and one sister’s insistence that people stop handing out sympathy like it’s harmless.
Sometimes the harshest witness isn’t a cop, a politician, or an activist.
Sometimes it’s the person who grew up with the suspect and is tired of watching strangers rewrite him into a victim he never was.
Ed spent his childhood in the backwoods of Maine, where harsh winters taught him the value of survival skills. With a background in bushcraft and off-grid living, Ed has honed his expertise in fire-making, hunting, and wild foraging. He writes from personal experience, sharing practical tips and hands-on techniques to thrive in any outdoor environment. Whether it’s primitive camping or full-scale survival, Ed’s advice is grounded in real-life challenges.
