WASHINGTON | A new, confidential investigation has found that the Homeland Security Department missed warning signs and opportunities to intervene in the case of a disgruntled federal agent who started a deadly shooting in a government office building.
The report obtained by The Associated Press is a thorough examination of the 2012 gun battle inside the Long Beach, California, offices of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations. It left the agent, Ezequiel “Zeke” Garcia, dead. An unarmed senior manager, Kevin Kozak (pronounced KOE-zack), suffered seven gunshot wounds.
The government concluded that managers and coworkers should have noticed warning signs in Garcia’s behavior and attitude. The government had briefly revoked Garcia’s authorization to carry his gun and badge six months before the shootings. But it returned them over a supervisor’s objections.