By Steve Neavling
Four federal law enforcement officers were shot last week in the three separate shootings, underscoring the dangers of the profession.
DEA Special Agent Michael Garbo was shot and killed by an Amtrak passenger in Tucson, Ariz., while doing a routine inspection for illegal drugs and guns on the train.
Another DEA was shot and critically injured.
On Tuesday, an ATF agent was injured and a gunman killed in a shootout in Tennessee. The agent was trying to arrest Corey Daniel Wellman as part of a drug-related investigation when the shootout occurred at about 2:15 p.m. in a parking of a string of businesses.
On Wednesday, an FBI agent was shot while a federal task force tried to serve an arrest warrant at a home in Racine, Wis. The agent is recovering. The suspect fatally shot himself.
“The FBI Agents Association stands with these courageous agents, and our thoughts and prayers are with them and with their families,” FBI Agents Association President Brian O’Hare told ABC News. “The FBIAA hopes that all Americans will join us in condemning these abhorrent acts of violence.”
It was a tough week for federal law enforcement, Acting Deputy Director of the ATF Tom Chittum said.
“This has been an incredibly difficult week for federal law enforcement,” he said. “Our hearts and thoughts and prayers go out to the families, the friends and to those officers that have been subjected to this gun violence.”
