According to Arizona Family, he was driving through northwestern Sasabe, a dangerous border route, due to the closure at the Lukeville checkpoint. It was during this time that he found himself in the midst of a shooting incident, with smugglers firing at his vehicle and hitting it with at least 16 gunshots.
Ricketts added, “I received a hit on my arm that felt similar to a childhood bicycle scrape, and my left leg was also affected.”
According to the report, the Attorney General’s Office in Sonora stated that this recent shooting incident marks the second time within the past month that an American has been caught in the midst of violent circumstances.
Ricketts originally planned to bypass the closed Lukeville checkpoint by crossing the border at Nogales. However, his GPS mistakenly directed him towards the Sasabe entry point in Sonora, an area that the Department of State advises Americans to avoid due to high crime rates.
According to the Arizona Republic, there was a shooting incident on Christmas Eve, which occurred just one week after another shooting on a Sonora highway. In the Christmas Eve shooting, a US resident lost their life, and two others were injured.
According to a report by Arizona Family, Ricketts has been working in Mexico for the past 20 years, specifically in Puerto Libertad, Sonora. He is involved in the construction of a real estate development in the area.
According to the station, Ricketts didn’t seem to be angry at the gangs who unleashed the barrage of bullets, despite the frightening incident.
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