Migrant killings 'increasing at alarming rate'

DAVID L. TEIBEL

Published: 02.08.2007

The gruesome scene that left one - possibly three - migrants killed by gunmen in the far Northwest side today is becoming increasingly common along the smuggling routes, a top sheriff's official said.

Such incidents are "increasing at an alarming rate," said Bureau Chief Richard Kastigar, head of investigations at the Sheriff's Department. "This is almost becoming a daily occurrence."

According to law enforcement officials, these type of gunmen, or bandits:

> Are Mexican or Americans who first identify, then target, an immigrant group.

> Then they set up ambushes in the desert, stealing whatever cash and valuables they can.

> Then, bandits often kidnap the illegal immigrants by taking them to a safehouse and holding them for ransom from family members in Mexico or in the U.S.

> These incidents are often unreported to law enforcement.

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Migrant killers may be rival smugglers

Officials say gunmen may have tried to steal load of illegal immigrants

ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN

Published: 02.10.2007

Gunmen who opened fire on a truck carrying illegal immigrants and their smugglers, killing three people and wounding two, were probably rival smugglers, an investigator said Friday.

The gunmen chased down the truck Thursday northwest of Tucson and opened fire but were never able to stop it, and eventually abandoned the chase, said Pima County sheriff's Lt. Michael O'Connor, commander of the violent crimes unit.

"It really appears to us it was a situation where it was a rival smuggling operation trying to take these people," O'Connor said.

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Entrants killings' details emerge

4 bandits likely fired powerful rifles at truckload of Central Americans

By Brady McCombs

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

The detailed picture that emerged Friday about events that led to bandits shooting and killing three illegal entrants northwest of Tucson provides a glimpse into the violent underbelly of human trafficking in Arizona.

The events unfolded early Thursday morning near the Silver Bell Mine Road area, taking the lives of two men and one woman. Authorities have not yet released the nationality, names or ages of the victims.

Between 4:30 and 5 a.m., a Dodge pickup stolen in Phoenix was taking a group of illegal entrants north across the Tohono O'odham Reservation, said a Pima County Sheriff's Department press release.

A group of bandits tried to stop the truck and opened fire when the driver refused to stop. Authorities estimated the gunfire came from four bandits shooting high-powered rifles. Bullets entered the front and side of the truck, the sheriff's press release says.

The gunfire likely came from assault weapons or AK-47s, judging by the casings found, Mack said.

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3 die in NW Side attack against illegal entrants

2 hurt, several more missing in assault by 3 or 4 men

By Dale Quinn

arizona daily star

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 02.09.2007

Three people were killed, two more were injured and several others are missing in the wake of an assault on a group of illegal entrants by several armed men on the far Northwest Side Thursday morning.

The group of about 10 illegal border crossers were headed north near the Silver Bell mine in a Dodge truck when they encountered three or four men in another vehicle, said Pima County Sheriff's Department Bureau Chief Richard Kastigar.

In the altercation, one man was shot and killed, a woman suffered a gunshot and neck wound and another man suffered a hand injury and lost several fingers, Kastigar said.