DALLAS — A Dallas man has pleaded guilty to shooting at an ATF agent in an apparent fit of road rage, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas announced.
Michael Fagan, 30, was charged in April 2023 with assaulting or impeding a federal officer and was later indicted in May 2023. On Oct. 31, 2023, he pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting a federal officer using a deadly or dangerous weapon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez.
According to plea documents, on April 6, an ATF agent noticed an SUV stopped at a red light at the intersection of Garland Road and Gaston Avenue. The ATF agent said he observed the driver, later identified as Fagan, inside the vehicle “yelling and flailing his arms.”
The documents stated that the ATF agent believed Fagan might have been experiencing an emergency, so the agent rolled down his front passenger window and asked if Fagan was okay. That’s when Fagan opened his driver-side door and began yelling incoherently at the agent, who instructed Fagan to get back into his vehicle. Fagan then re-entered his vehicle, leaned over the passenger seat and turned to face the agent holding a black semiautomatic pistol in his hand, document said.
Court documents said that the agent ducked down below the dashboard of his vehicle and heard a gun discharge. The agent then reportedly drew his weapon and fired three shots, hitting Fagan once.
Fagan fled the scene to meet up with his girlfriend, who called 911 to report he had been shot and took him to Baylor hospital, officials said. Fagan was later arrested at the hospital after he was admitted.
After his guilty plea, officials said Fagan faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
