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A shooting at an Amtrak station in Tucson, Arizona on Monday morning left a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent dead and several police officers injured. The suspected gunman was also pronounced dead after exchanging gunfire with officers.
Cheri Oz, a special agent in charge of the DEA in Phoenix, Arizona, confirmed at a press conference Monday that a DEA officer had died.
“I am deeply saddened to confirm that a special agent died from injuries sustained in the shooting. A second special agent is in critical condition and a task force officer is in stable condition,” Oz said. .
No passengers were reportedly injured in the shooting.
Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus said the incident happened around 8 a.m. at the downtown Tucson train station and involved a regional anti-narcotics alliance made up of officers from Tucson police and DEA officers.
According to Magnus, the officers were carrying out a “routine interdiction check”, looking for illegal weapons, money and drugs.
Several officers boarded the double-decker train and made contact with two people on the upper deck. While holding one person, the second, described by Magnus as a Hispanic man in his twenties to thirties, drew a gun and opened fire.
A Tucson police officer went to assess the situation and was shot dead. The suspect exchanged gunshots with officers before barricading himself in a bathroom on the first floor. When the suspect was found in the bathroom, he was pronounced dead.
VIDEO: The moment the shooting took place in downtown Tucson at the Amtrak station just after 8 a.m.
Courtesy: Virtual Railfan @KVOA pic.twitter.com/L2TK0myskE
– Priscilla Casper KVOA (@PriscillaCasper) October 4, 2021
“I really want to think first about how terrible this tragedy is, not just for the DEA obviously, but for everyone in law enforcement,” Magnus said. “It really is horrible and we all accept how terrible it is.”
“But I also want to reflect on the truly heroic actions of the officers on the scene who literally ran into danger in the car where there was an active fire situation,” Magnus added, praising the officers for evacuating their colleagues and ensuring the safety of the ten passengers on board.
Magnus was unable to say when the suspect boarded the train and could not say where the train was heading or where it came from due to the ongoing investigation.
The FBI’s field office in Phoenix told The Hill it was dealing with the scene with the help of Tucson police as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The FBI said there is currently no threat to public safety and declined to provide further details on the incident.
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