Dear RMN Readers and Agents,
My Mexican writer friend, and fellow agent, has spoken of this MANY times!
It would seem this took place WHILE FOX IS VISITING AZ. Coincidence? Or planned while he was here? FOUR people dead in highway shootout in southern AZ.
Below is the story, it had gawdawful long link:
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Four killed in smuggling-related shooting in Arizona
By BETH DeFALCO, Associated Press Writer November 06, 2003
CASA GRANDE - Smugglers who traffic in illegal immigrants opened fire on a rival group on an Arizona interstate Tuesday, killing four people and wounding five, authorities said. Four people were later arrested in the desert.
The shootings began as smugglers traveling in a van chased down an SUV and a pickup truck carrying the other smugglers and several illegal immigrants between Tucson and Phoenix, said Pinal County Sheriff Roger Vanderpool. The pursuing group shot into the other cars numerous times.
"This was clearly a retaliation to send a message," Vanderpool said.
Vanderpool said the gunmen were retaliating because the other group had taken the smugglers' human cargo earlier. He didn't have any other details late Tuesday.
"This tragic incident underscores how ruthless and violent organized smuggling has become," said Thomas DeRouchey, special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "The smugglers' only motive is money. They don't care about the human cost."
Migrant smuggling is getting more dangerous as violent drug dealers move into the lucrative business of bringing immigrants from Mexico into Arizona, one of the hottest illegal entry points on the U.S.-Mexico border.
An increasing number of smugglers are holding immigrants hostage in the United States until they or their families pay up. Rival gangs of criminals also steal the immigrants away from the smugglers and hold them for ransom, officials said.
"This phenomenon is not something new where we see a group being essentially ripped off by another group that will negotiate for a price to restore them back to the original group," said Russell Ahr, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In Tuesday's shooting, which came as Mexican President Vicente Fox was visiting Arizona to discuss migration issues, four people believed to be in the van were arrested in the desert near Chandler. Three firearms were found in the van.
The people in the pickup and SUV didn't return fire, Vanderpool said.
The driver and three men traveling in the pickup were killed. Three other people were injured. Authorities found 11 others who had been in the pickup unharmed.
The pickup, which came to rest against a fence on the side of the road, had 28 bullet holes consistent with the weapons found in the van, Vanderpool said. The driver's window had been shot out.
Two people in the SUV, including a woman who was shot in the foot, also were wounded by gunfire. Four others were unharmed.
Neither the names of the gunmen nor the victims were released Tuesday night.
Vanderpool said the wounded were taken to hospitals in the region but didn't have information on the nature of their injuries.
He said authorities were interviewing the survivors and were still trying to sort out who among the survivors, the dead and the wounded were smugglers.
Police first got calls about a multiple-vehicle accident outside Casa Grande and later received calls about a shooting.
When officers arrived, they found four people dead at the scene.
The shooting also caused a three-vehicle wreck that injured three people not connected to either group.
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Well folks, this is not an isolated incident either. And once again, the innocent suffered the most. Not only did they pay big bucks to get smuggled in; they got shot and killed, and wounded for their high fees paid to the bad guys.
Pravdaseeker
