By Dennis Wagner
USA TODAY
NOGALES, Ariz. — The mother of the U.S. Border Patrol agent who was killed in a shootout near Nogales, Ariz., three weeks ago says she and her family are growing frustrated waiting for details of why or how her son lost his life.
“We don’t really know anything yet,” said Josephine Terry, from her home in Flat Rock, Mich.
Brian A. Terry, a 40-year-old member of the U.S. Border Patrol’s elite tactical squad known as BORTAC, was gunned down Dec. 14, when his unit confronted suspected bandits in an isolated canyon about 13 miles north of the Mexican border.
Border Patrol officials and the FBI, which is conducting the criminal investigation, have not offered additional details.
Four suspects were arrested shortly after he was killed, including one who was injured. On Wednesday, Ray Kondo, assistant chief for the U.S. Marshals Service in Tucson, said that two additional suspects have been arrested. No one has been charged or publicly identified.
Josephine Terry said she trusts that federal agents are gathering evidence carefully to ensure an accurate account.
But she said the wait has been frustrating for family members -- who include Brian’s father Kent, his brother Kent and two sisters, Michelle Balogh and Kelly Willis -- because of rumors spread across the Internet that some BORTAC agents carried shotguns loaded with bean bags.
“We don’t even know if he had real bullets,” she said. “It’s difficult. I don’t want my son to have died for nothing.” Border Patrol officials declined to comment.
Brian Terry was a member of National Border Patrol Council’s Local 2544 in Tucson. He grew up in Flat Rock, a small community about 20 miles south of Detroit and graduated from Flat Rock High School in 1988. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps in Iraq and was a police officer before he joined the Border Patrol three years ago.
Josephine Terry said family members and friends plan to attend a memorial ceremony for her son in Tucson on Jan. 21 and they expect to get some answers at that time.
She said she was nervous when her son was assigned to the Border Patrol’s special response team. “But I couldn’t have been prouder,” she added. “That was his calling, and that’s what he loved. I was behind him 100%.”
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