Flags to fly at half-staff in Arizona for DEA agent killed in Tucson train shooting

PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey ordered flags be lowered to half-staff on Wednesday at all state buildings in honor of Drug Enforcement Agency Group Supervisor Michael G. Garbo, who died Monday in a shooting on an Amtrak train at a Tucson station.

Ducey said the flags would remain at half-staff from sunrise to sunset.

“My thoughts and prayers are with Group Supervisor Michael Garbo’s family, friends and colleagues,” Ducey said Tuesday in a press release. “The senseless act of violence that took place in Tucson yesterday is a tragedy for our state.

“Every day, law enforcement personnel put their lives on the line to keep Arizona and our nation safe. Group Supervisor Garbo died serving others in that heroic duty. He dedicated his career to protecting our communities from the trafficking of illegal drugs and the crime that accompanies them. He will be remembered for his exceptional service and the deep impact he had on all those who worked with him.”

Garbo served more than 16 years with the agency combatting drug trafficking in Nogales and Kabul, Afghanistan, as a special agent and group supervisor, according to the release.

“Across DEA, Group Supervisor Garbo was universally loved and respected for his leadership, and for his unrelenting passion to protect the safety of the American people. Above all else, he was a devoted and loving father and husband,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in a statement.

A second agent and a Tucson police officer were wounded in the Monday morning shooting. The agent was listed in critical condition while the officer was in stable condition. Authorities have not released their identities.

The Sunset Limited, Train 2, was carrying 137 passengers and 11 crew members traveling from Los Angeles to New Orleans, and arrived at the downtown Tucson station at 7:40 am, said Jason Abrams, an Amtrak spokesman.

The shooting occurred about 20 minutes later and sent panicked passengers running. A regional task force of DEA agents and Tucson police officers had boarded one of the cars to do a check for illegal money, weapons and drugs.

Officers were in the middle of detaining a man on the upper level of the double-decker car when a second man pulled out a handgun and began firing. He exchanged several rounds with police and then barricaded himself in a bathroom on the lower level, according to Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus.

He was later found dead inside.

The other suspect was arrested. Authorities have not said what charges he faces or his relationship to the slain suspect.

There were no other injuries among the train’s passengers or crew.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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