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An Arizona man who says a “swatting” name ended with deputies’ bullets leaving him partially paralyzed is now demanding $176 million from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
Axeel Melendez, 24, and his mom, Carmen Melendez, just lately filed a discover of claim in opposition to the Pima County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Chris Nanos, signaling their intent to sue, in line with Arizona Public Media.
Dev Sethi, who’s representing Melendez, informed the outlet that the person and his mom had been swatted, prompting a large regulation enforcement response at their home. Swatting is a criminal prank the place people place faux calls to 911 for a particular location with the aim of getting a regulation enforcement response to that location.
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Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos provides an replace on the investigation after the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie on Feb. 5, 2026. (Rebecca Noble/Reuters)
“Our justice system recognizes the dignity of a human life and the importance of the completeness of your body. Axeel’s health, his independence, his ability to earn a living, his sense of security, that’s all been stolen away from him,” Sethi mentioned.
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Someone impersonating Melendez initially known as 311, a non-emergency quantity, on April 10 and mentioned his father shot his sister, giving the tackle for Melendez.
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“This morning of the April 10 call has many red flags and hallmarks of it being a fake call, including…this call came into 311. Nobody reporting an emergency calls 311,” Sethi mentioned.
Sethi mentioned the decision was constructed from an out of state space code and added the caller did not pronounce Melendez’s first title appropriately.
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Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos speaks with a reporter in his workplace on Thursday, July 30, 2026. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital, Matt Finn/Fox News)
Melendez obtained a threatening message from a hacker who stole his personal information throughout a web-based online game and demanded a ransom to return his accounts and passwords, his legal professional mentioned, even threatening to report him to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement due to his Hispanic title.
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After the risk, Melendez known as 911 and shared his considerations a couple of possible swatting incident and was allegedly reassured there are safeguards.
“He tells a 911 operator all of this and she essentially downplays it and says, ‘Don’t worry, that’s not how it works. They can’t just call 911 and have the SWAT team show up at your house,” Sethi mentioned.
According to the legal professional, Pima County deputies allegedly ignored a warning that Melendez’s tackle was a identified potential swatting goal, stating that she approached the house with a mindset to “treat it like it’s real until it’s not real.”
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Believing an intruder was breaking in, Melendez grabbed his household’s legally owned handgun and took cowl behind his bed room door as deputies smashed by way of the window, in line with the claim. The deputies then allegedly opened hearth.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos provides an replace on the investigation after the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mom of U.S. journalist and tv host Savannah Guthrie, who went lacking from her in Tucson, Arizona, U.S. February 5, 2026. (Rebecca Noble/Reuters)
Melendez says he was hit in his proper thigh and left shoulder, which left him with a spinal twine harm along with damaged ribs and a damaged leg.
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“He did everything we teach our kids to do. When you’re in danger, when somebody’s threatening you, what’s the first thing we tell all of our children? Call the police,” Sethi mentioned. “Axeel is a vulnerable young man, his life has been upended. He has real present needs and we’ve given them an opportunity to do the right thing and resolve the case, but the ball is wholly in their courts.”
