Arnold said he wasn’t aware of any issues between Garcia and Kozak. “We are doing everything humanly possible to understand why it happened and to ensure it will not happen again,” he said. By AMY TAXIN and GREG RISLING ADVERTISING
By AMY TAXIN and GREG RISLING
Associated Press
LONG BEACH, Calif. — It had all the ingredients of workplace violence: a manager, an angry employee, a discussion about job performance and at least one gun.
But in this case, both people were federal agents. And when gunfire erupted in a government office building, a third agent drew his handgun and took out the shooter, helping save the manager’s life.
Investigators on Friday were still piecing together the details of Thursday’s chaotic scene at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Long Beach.
The confrontation apparently began during a discussion involving Kevin Kozak, the agency’s second-in-command for the Los Angeles area, and a lower-ranking supervisor agent named Ezequiel Garcia.
At some point, the discussion escalated, and Garcia pulled out his weapon and fired. Kozak was hit six times, in the upper torso, legs and hands. He was hospitalized in stable condition but was alert and talking.
“He is a fighter, and I believe that’s why he’s alive today,” said Claude Arnold, the ICE agent in charge in Los Angeles. “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.”
After Garcia fired, a nearby agent drew his own gun and fatally shot the attacker. The third agent, whose name was being withheld, was placed on administrative leave.
Arnold said he wasn’t aware of any issues between Garcia and Kozak. “We are doing everything humanly possible to understand why it happened and to ensure it will not happen again,” he said.
