A man has been charged with assaulting federal officers during an incident in which he was shot by one of the officers at the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System, the FBI said.
Kevin Stennis Gordon, who is in his mid-50s, was taken into custody by the FBI on Saturday, the agency said.
According to a federal complaint Gordon was found in a construction site on the grounds of the VA hospital, 3601 S. Sixth Ave., pushing a cart containing a pallet with pipe valves. The VA officers told Gordon he could not take the construction company's property, according to a complaint filed by the FBI.
At one point, the complaint states, Gordon tipped the cart over spilling the pallet and pipe valves. Gordon then pulled out a metal rod with hinges on the end and swung it at a distance from the officers. He then stepped forward and swung the pipe, striking an officer in the forearm causing a scratch. Another VA officer then pepper sprayed Gordon, who dropped the metal rod, the complaint states.
Gordon then picked up a rock and threw it at the officers, but missed, the complaint states. The officers told Gordon they did not want to hurt him, but he then pulled out a pipe, about 2-feet long, from his pants and started swinging it at the officers, the complaint states.
When Gordon lunged at one of the officers the pipe hit the officer's handgun and the officer fired one round, striking Gordon in the lower left torso. As the officers rendered first aid, Gordon continued to fight with them, the complaint states. There was no indication in the complaint on the seriousness of Gordon's wound.
