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Amtrak shooting in Tucson leaves DEA agent, suspect dead; 2nd suspect detained

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TUCSON, Ariz. — A chaotic shootout unfolded at an Amtrak train station in Tuscon, Arizona, on Monday morning, leaving one federal agent and a suspect dead, another agent and a local officer injured and a second suspect in custody.

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Tucson Chief of Police Chris Magnus told KOLD that the incident was sparked at around 8 a.m. when the Counter Narcotics Alliance, a multi-jurisdictional drug task force serving southern Arizona, boarded the train to conduct a routine check for money, drugs and firearms.

He said that law enforcement made contact with two individuals on the double-decker train’s second level and took one suspect into custody, while the second, described as a Hispanic male in his 20s or 30s, pulled out a handgun and started shooting, the TV station reported.

Magnus confirmed during an afternoon news conference that one agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was shot and died on the scene, while a second agent was transported to an area medical facility in critical condition. He also confirmed that an officer with the Tuscon Police Department injured in the shootout is in stable condition and is expected to survive, KVOA reported.

“Tragically, this morning, two DEA special agents and a DEA task force officer from the Tucson Police Department were shot during a law enforcement operation in Tucson,” Cheri Oz, the DEA Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix division, said in a prepared statement.

“We at the DEA 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,” Oz added.

The unidentified suspect with the handgun was later found dead after barricading himself in a bathroom on the train, but Magnus could not immediately confirm if he was shot by agents or suicide, KOLD reported.

According to Amtrak officials, the Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle Train 2/422 arrived in Tucson at 7:40 a.m. with 137 passengers and 11 crew members. The eastbound train was traveling en route to New Orleans from Los Angeles at the time of the shootings, KVOA reported.

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