Long Beach, Calif. - Late Thursday afternoon, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent opened fire in a Long Beach federal building, injuring another agent. FBI officials announced Friday, that the gunman, supervisory special agent Ezequiel Garcia, 45, was involved in a job counseling session with the victim, Kevin Kozak, 51, deputy special agent in charge of the Los Angeles areas.
After the shooting began on the 7th floor of the Glenn M. Anderson Federal Building, another agent intervened and shot Garcia dead.
Kozak is reportedly in stable condition at a local hospital.
The unidentified agent who shot and killed Garcia has been placed on administrative leave while the incident is investigated.
Claude Arnold, an ICE special agent in charge said, “He refused to succumb to his injuries and in law enforcement that's what makes the difference between people who go home at the end of the day and those who don't,” reports USA Today.
He noted that the shooting that took place among agents is an anomaly for the department.
Kozak has worked as a civil servant for almost three decades, while Garcia was transferred in 2004 from the now defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service and promoted to a supervisor within ICE.
According to the newspaper, a federal official spoke to media on the condition of anonymity, saying Kozak had denied a request by Garcia for an internal transfer.
In 2005, a federal jury found Los Angeles police officers did not use excessive force against Garcia and another ICE agent, who filed suit against the LAPD saying they were abused while working undercover.
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