U.S. immigration agent killed after shooting colleague

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and wounded a colleague in the agency's office in a Los Angeles suburb on Thursday before a third agent opened fire, killing the gunman, authorities said.

The wounded agent was taken to a hospital in Long Beach, not far from the ICE offices in a federal building, where doctors said he was listed in stable condition following surgery and expected to survive.

Authorities described the shooting as an incidence of workplace violence that began as a dispute between two federal agents, but gave no details as to its origins.

"One agent fired several rounds at the other agent, wounding him," Steven Martinez, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, told a news conference.

"At that time when that occurred, another agent intervened and fired his weapon," Martinez said. "This resulted in the death of the shooter."

The shooting, which Martinez described as an "isolated incident" that was still under investigation, erupted during rush hour near downtown Los Angeles and prompted police to shut down streets and a major intersection for more than an hour.

Local television images showed an ambulance rushing the injured agent to a nearby hospital accompanied by a police escort as law enforcement agents ringed the building.

"Our hearts go out to all of those affected by this tragedy," ICE Special Agent Claude Arnold said.

"At times like this, words honestly seem inadequate," he said. "We dedicate our lives to protecting the public and ... when something like this happens within our office it's incomprehensible."

(Additional reporting by Mary Slosson; Editing by Peter Bohan)

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U.S. immigration agent killed after shooting colleague

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and wounded a colleague in the agency's office in a Los Angeles suburb on Thursday before a third agent opened fire, killing the gunman, authorities said.

The wounded agent was taken to a hospital in Long Beach, not far from the ICE offices in a federal building, where doctors said he was listed in stable condition following surgery and expected to survive.

Authorities described the shooting as an incidence of workplace violence that began as a dispute between two federal agents, but gave no details as to its origins.

"One agent fired several rounds at the other agent, wounding him," Steven Martinez, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, told a news conference.

"At that time when that occurred, another agent intervened and fired his weapon," Martinez said. "This resulted in the death of the shooter."

The shooting, which Martinez described as an "isolated incident" that was still under investigation, erupted during rush hour near downtown Los Angeles and prompted police to shut down streets and a major intersection for more than an hour.

Local television images showed an ambulance rushing the injured agent to a nearby hospital accompanied by a police escort as law enforcement agents ringed the building.

"Our hearts go out to all of those affected by this tragedy," ICE Special Agent Claude Arnold said.

"At times like this, words honestly seem inadequate," he said. "We dedicate our lives to protecting the public and ... when something like this happens within our office it's incomprehensible."

(Additional reporting by Mary Slosson; Editing by Peter Bohan)

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Immigration agent shot dead at Calif. federal duilding

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent is dead after gunfire at the agency's offices in a California federal building.

In the incident at the Glenn M. Anderson Federal Building in Long Beach, Calif., an ICE agent allegedly opened fire on two colleagues, leaving one wounded with multiple gunshots, another unharmed, and the initial shooter dead, ICE told ABC News.

Earlier, multiple published reports citing the Long Beach Police described a second agent dead and the third wounded, but those reports were mistaken, ICE said.

The incident began as an unspecified dispute between a supervisor and a subordinate, The Los Angeles Times reported.

It occurred at 5:30 p.m. PT inside the ICE offices, according to a written statement by ICE, which added that the victims were with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit.

"One of the agents died at the scene," the statement said. "The second agent was transported to a local hospital where he is listed in stable condition. The names of the agents are not being released pending notification of the next of kin. The shooting is being investigated by ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility, the Long Beach Police Department and the FBI."

After the shootings, television aerial footage showed at least one victim being transported under police escort from the federal building to a hospital.

Later, police conducted a security sweep of the building, ABC News station KABC reported.

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