A woman identified as 33-year-old Jennifer Jesselle Perez Rodriguez was recently involved in a shooting incident with an FBI agent on Houston's south side, according to court documents. The situation unfolded on April 15, around 5:30 p.m., in a parking lot near the intersection of Milan Drive and East Anderson Road, as reported by Click2Houston. The agents, which included personnel from the FBI, DEA, and Homeland Security, were concluding a child welfare operation when Rodriguez allegedly approached their unmarked vehicle wielding a machete.
Surveillance footage from the Del Papa Food Store indicated that Rodriguez walked into the road and brandished the weapon. She is accused of then trying to run toward the vehicle. An FBI agent responded by firing multiple rounds, striking her in the upper chest. Rodriguez was promptly taken to a hospital and is currently in custody, though her condition has not been disclosed. She has been federally charged with assaulting a federal officer and appeared in court last Friday with a follow-up detention hearing scheduled for Tuesday, as per Click2Houston.
Similarly, KHOU reported that the criminal complaint made public reveals agents tried to deescalate the situation after Perez-Rodriguez ignored commands to drop the machete. "Agents reportedly activated a siren in one of the vehicles as Perez-Rodriguez ran toward them with the machete," the website states. An agent opened his vehicle’s door, commanding her to drop the weapon, but was forced to subsequently shoot as she allegedly continued her advance.
If convicted for the assault, Rodriguez could face up to 20 years in federal prison, along with a potential fine of $250,000. The agent involved in the shooting was unharmed, and the incident is still under investigation, as per KHOU.
