LOS ANGELES (AP) — An immigration agent was justified in fatally shooting a colleague who opened fire on their boss in a federal office building last year, the FBI has determined.
The wild double-shooting at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Long Beach office occurred after Kevin Kozak, the second-in-command for the agency's Los Angeles region, turned down a transfer request by Ezequiel Garcia, who then shot him six times. Another agent rushed into the room and killed Garcia. Kozak survived.
The FBI spent about a year investigating and determined the fatal shooting was justified, bureau spokeswoman Laura Eimiller told The Associated Press. She declined to provide any details about what the investigation found leading up to Garcia's attack or the basis for the overall finding, saying they would be kept confidential because no criminal charges are planned.
Ann Weismann, chief counsel of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said the public is entitled to more information because of the location of the shooting and the participants.
"This wasn't a killing in a private space or a building," she said. "It was a killing of a federal agent by another agent in a federal building. The public interest in it is even greater."
