| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: WoT |
| Gunmen Kill 3 Illegals in Arizona |
| 2007-02-09 |
| Gunmen stopped a pickup truck full of illegal immigrants, shot some and took the rest captive Thursday in an attack that left at least three people dead and two wounded, authorities said. Officials have not determined who the gunmen were but believe the driver, who was probably a smuggler, escaped along with a guide. They are still at large. At least two of the immigrants were Guatemalan, officials believe. The men shot at least five people, three fatally, along a known smuggling corridor near Tucson, and forced several others in the group of nine or 10 immigrants to leave with them, Pima County sheriff's officials said. The victims are thought to be two men and a 15-year-old girl. Another 15-year-old girl was later found with slight injuries, and another person, apparently uninjured, was found in the afternoon, officials said. Two men who were not injured were telling authorities what happened, officials said. Investigators did not immediately know a motive for Thursday's attack, but gangs of bandits are known to roam border areas preying on illegal immigrants as they cross into the country. Feuding among smuggling organizations also is not uncommon, sometimes involving demands for ransoms from the immigrants relatives to gain their freedom. The attack occurred on a dirt road near the Silverbell Mine, about 20 miles northwest of Tucson, said Rick Kastigar, the Pima County sheriff's criminal investigations chief. Gunmen in a vehicle shot at the pickup and forced it to stop, killing one man and the teenager, authorities believe. Another man was fatally wounded, one woman was shot in her chest and suffered a neck injury, and a third man was shot in the hand and apparently lost several fingers. The gunmen continued north and east, forcing several immigrants to go with them, officials said. The man with the hand injury and the injured woman flagged down a rancher, who called authorities, officials said. Sheriff's officials found the third person dead along the road, and the two remaining wounded were taken to a hospital. Authorities were trying to determine any link to a Jan. 27 confrontation about 40 miles to the north, possibly between human smugglers, that left one man dead and another wounded. In that incident, four men wearing camouflage uniforms and berets stopped a vehicle carrying illegal immigrants. The FBI will be on this like a duck on a June bug. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #11 There have always been banditos on the border to take advantage of the pollos, er, I should say migrants. Read Lines and Shadows by Joseph Wambaugh. The only news here is that AP reported it. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2007-02-09 11:51 |
| #10 Stop somebody on I-10 in Texas and your life is forfet. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-02-09 10:50 |
| #9 Bush is looking more like an asshole every day. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2007-02-09 09:22 |
| #8 IMO, "business dispute" but it doesn't mater. We know who is going to be blamed. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2007-02-09 08:36 |
| #7 In a zone where the local government don't bother to enforce its laws, don't be surprised if outlaws rule. Perhaps the next hot news items will be "highwayman" stopping traffic on I-10 and robbing/raping/killing miscellaneous travelers. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2007-02-09 08:25 |
| #6 Yeah, sounds like a business dispute to me. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2007-02-09 06:30 |
| #5 along a known smuggling corridor near Tucson A good place to put a strong section or two or fencing, I think. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-02-09 06:27 |
| #4 Probably one coyote gang decided that another coyote gang was encroaching on their turf, and took care of the problem. Happens quite a lot out in the desert border zone, normally does not make it to the news however. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2007-02-09 04:16 |
| #3 it was illegal smugglers killing the illegal aliens regular Americans don't want to. |
| Posted by: chriskarma 2007-02-09 02:34 |
| #2 I think more of Coyotes scaring people into paying them and cornering the market. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2007-02-09 02:04 |
| #1 First stop: check all the Border Patrol and Customs agents guns for any sign of recent firing. If positive, lock the agent in jail. Seriously tho': Clandestine Minuteman or vigilate action for the jailing of the two agents? |
| Posted by: USN, ret. 2007-02-09 01:39 |