An Arizona resident, who claims to have been left partially paralyzed following a “swatting” prank that led to a police shooting, is now seeking $176 million in damages from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
At 24, Axeel Melendez, alongside his mother, Carmen Melendez, has submitted a notice of claim against both the Pima County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Chris Nanos, hinting at the possibility of a lawsuit, as reported by Arizona Public Media.
Dev Sethi, Melendez’s attorney, explained to the news outlet that a swatting incident targeted Melendez and his mother. This led to a large-scale police response at their location. Swatting involves making false emergency calls to provoke a reaction from law enforcement.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos provides an update on an unrelated case concerning the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie on February 5, 2026. (Rebecca Noble/Reuters)
“Our justice system upholds the value of human life and the integrity of one’s physical being. Axeel has had his health, independence, earning potential, and peace of mind taken from him,” Sethi remarked.
Someone impersonating Melendez initially called 311, a non-emergency number, on April 10 and said his father shot his sister, giving the address for Melendez.
“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 said.
Sethi said the call was made from an out of state area code and added the caller didn’t pronounce Melendez’s first name correctly.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos speaks with a reporter in his office on Thursday, July 30, 2026. (Kat Ramirez for News Media, Matt Finn/Fox News)
Melendez received a threatening message from a hacker who stole his personal information during an online video game and demanded a ransom to return his accounts and passwords, his attorney said, even threatening to report him to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement because of his Hispanic name.
After the threat, Melendez called 911 and shared his concerns about a 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 said.
According to the attorney, Pima County deputies allegedly ignored a warning that Melendez’s address was a known possible swatting target, stating that she approached the home with a mindset to “treat it like it’s real until it’s not real.”
Believing an intruder was breaking in, Melendez grabbed his family’s legally owned handgun and took cover behind his bedroom door as deputies smashed through the window, according to the claim. The deputies then allegedly opened fire.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos gives an update on the investigation after the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of U.S. journalist and television host Savannah Guthrie, who went missing from her in Tucson, Arizona, U.S. February 5, 2026. (Rebecca Noble/Reuters)
Melendez says he was hit in his right thigh and left shoulder, which left him with a spinal court injury in addition to broken ribs and a broken leg.
“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 said. “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.”