Suspect in Smurfit Westrock facility officer-involved shooting released from hospital, in jail
Thursday, July 10, 2025 2:00 pm
EL PASO, Texas (From news reports) -- The man accused of shooting an officer and a Smurfit Westrock manufacturing facility employee in Lower Valley last month was released from the hospital and booked into jail. Paul Ivan Gonzalez, 32, was booked into jail on Tuesday, July 8. El Paso police responded to an officer-involved shooting that occurred on June 23 at a manufacturing facility on Stiles Drive in the Lower Valley. Officers responded to the Smurfit Westrock El Paso Container Plant after receiving reports of a person armed with a gun. While officers were investigating, shots were fired, and police discovered the facility's manager, 46-year-old Leonardo Martinez, was shot during the incident. "We do know that there was an evacuation prior to officers arriving, and the manager was shot inside the facility prior to officers or at the same time when officers were arriving," said Sergeant Robert Gomez, a spokesperson for the El Paso Police Department. As they continued the investigation, officers encountered an armed suspect identified as 32-year-old Paul Ivan Gonzalez. Officials said Gonzalez was in the parking lot when he opened fire, and during the encounter with officers, he was shot. Both the suspect and the manager were transported to the hospital and were in stable but critical condition. Gonzalez is charged with aggravated assault on a public servant, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and has a bond of $100,000.
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