IRS Criminal Investigation officials have identified the individual killed Aug. 17 in a training incident at the Federal Correctional Institution, Phoenix, firing range.
The deceased is Special Agent Patrick Bauer, 47, a long-time resident of Arizona. Bauer is survived by his wife and four children. In addition to being a special agent, Bauer was a Master Sgt. (ret.) in the Arizona Air National Guard.
Bauer was taken to HonorHealth Deer Valley Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on Thursday, Aug. 17, in the early afternoon.
Shortly after the incident on Thursday, a spokesperson from IRS CI indicated that details would be forthcoming, but shared that, “Our concern today is for the agent and their family.”
Today, more details were confirmed. According to the FBI’s Phoenix Field Office, while the firing range is on Bureau of Prisons grounds, an interagency agreement allows for other law enforcement agencies to use the facility for training purposes. On Thursday, the IRS was at the range for routine training.
IRS Criminal Investigations
IRS-CI is the sixth-largest law enforcement agency in the U.S. There are about 3,700 employees in CI–about 2.600 of whom are special agents, and only those special agents carry firearms.
CI the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations like tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, and identity theft. While other federal agencies also have investigative jurisdiction for money laundering and some bank secrecy act violations, IRS is the only federal agency that can investigate potential criminal violations of the tax code.
Investigation
The cause of the incident is under investigation by the FBI. Those findings will be turned over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona for review.
