Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Dallas Man Pleads Guilty to Firing at ATF Agent
A Dallas man who shot at an ATF agent in an apparent fit of road rage pleaded guilty Tuesday, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.
Michael Fagan, 30, was charged via criminal complaint in April 2023 and was indicted in May 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 on Tuesday.
According to plea documents, on April 6, an ATF agent stopped at a red light at the intersection of Garland Road and Gaston Avenue in East Dallas observed the SUV’s driver, later identified as Mr. Fagan, inside the vehicle yelling and flailing his arms. Thinking the driver might be experiencing an emergency, the agent rolled down his front passenger window and asked if the driver was okay.
Mr. Fagan opened his driver-side door and began yelling incoherently at the agent, who instructed Mr. Fagan to get back in his vehicle. Mr. Fagan re-entered his vehicle, leaned over the passenger seat, and turned around to face the agent holding a black semiautomatic pistol in his hand.
The agent ducked down below the dashboard, and heard a gun discharge. The agent drew his weapon and fired three shots, hitting Mr. Fagan once.
Mr. Fagan fled the scene and was later arrested after he was admitted to Baylor hospital.
Mr. Fagan now faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division, the Dallas Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Withers is prosecuting the case.