PHOENIX — An IRS Special Agent was killed during an accidental shooting by another agent during a training exercise Thursday, according to ABC15 sources.
In a statement released Thursday, FBI officials confirmed they are investigating the death of an IRS Special Agent but did not share further details about what led up to the incident.
“This is a significant tragedy for the agents involved, the agency, their families. It's just really sad to see," said retired IRS Criminal Investigations Special Agent Aaron Gogley.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) says it is investigating a "shooting incident" at the Federal Correctional Institutional (FCI) Phoenix firing range Thursday afternoon but could not confirm additional details.
The FBOP says the gun range was being utilized by multiple federal agencies at the time.
The IRS has confirmed that an agent was taken to the hospital after the incident and did not survive.
The IRS has identified the fallen agent as 47-year-old Special Agent Patrick Bauer.
Bauer, a long-time resident of Arizona, is survived by his wife and four children. Bauer was also a Master Sergeant in the Arizona Air National Guard.
ABC15 sources say Bauer was shot by a fellow agent.
According to the IRS, Special Agents are the only IRS personnel who carry guns and conduct criminal investigations.
“A lot of these crimes are committed by very dangerous criminals,” Gogley said. “People trading on dark net markets, pedophiles, people selling narcotics, people selling all kind of terrible things on these dark net markets.”
