|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
A shooting happened aboard the Amtrak Sunset Limited train when it arrived at the Tucson, Arizona station just before 8 a.m. local time Monday, Oct. 4, 2021.
The motive of the shooting was not clear, but one DEA agent was killed on the scene. A Tucson Police Department (TPD) officer was injured after rushing to the train when he heard the shots. He is in stable condition and expected to survive.
The shooting suspect died on the train, and the second suspect is in custody, according to Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus.
Magnus said it started around 8 a.m. when the Counter Narcotics Alliance (CNA) and federal authorities boarded the train to conduct a routine check for money, drugs, and firearms. He said the CNA was in contact with two individuals on the second level of the double-decker train. While authorities were detaining a suspect on the train’s upper deck, a second man, a Hispanic male in his 20s or 30s, pulled out a weapon and opened fire.
“After exchanging rounds with the officers, the suspect was found dead barricading himself in a bathroom on the lower level,” Magnus said. He can not confirm whether the suspect was shot by agents or took his own life.
The train was heading from Los Angeles to New Orleans with 137 passengers and 11 crew members on board. All passengers and crew were evacuated, and there were no reports of injuries or casualties.
According to the police department statement, the information is limited at this time, but updates will follow.
Amtrak, on the other hand, said it is in contact with both the local and federal authorities about the shooting.
Written by Janet Grace Ortigas
Edited by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
CNN: 1 person detained after a shooting on an Amtrak train in Tucson; by Josh Campbell, Gregory Wallace and Alisha Ebrahimji
NBC News: DEA agent killed, 2 law enforcement officers injured in shooting on Amtrak train in Tucson; by Doha Madani
Top and Featured Image by Clay Gilliland – Courtesy of Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Inventorchris’ Flickr Page – Creative Commons License