DEA Agent Killed, Another in Critical Condition After Shooting on Amtrak Train

By Steve Neavling

A passenger aboard an Amtrak train in Tucson, Ariz., shot and killed a DEA agent and critically injured another while conducting a routine inspection for illegal drugs and guns. 

A city police officer, who was a member of a DEA joint task force, was also shot and in stable condition, Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus said at a news conference, The New York Times reports

“They were checking for illegal guns, money, drugs,” Chief Magnus said. “This is something they do, as I said, routinely at pretty much all transit hubs.”

The gunman, who barricaded himself inside a bathroom, also died, but it wasn’t clear whether he was killed by law enforcement or turned the gun on himself. Another suspect was arrested. 

Police were still trying to figure out what prompted the shooting, and Magnus said he wasn’t sure if any drugs or guns were found on the train. 

The shooting broke out while the double-decker train stopped at the station in Tucson at about 8 a.m. local time.

The injured DEA agent was placed in the rear of a patrol car and rushed to Banner-University Medical Center in Tucson. An ambulance transported the injured police officer to a hospital. 

Tucson police said the agent was in critical condition. 

“We at the D.E.A. are heartbroken by today’s events and ask that you keep the families of the agents and task force officer in your thoughts and prayers,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in a statement. 

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