Mexican Police Chief Killed with Rifle from Fast and Furious

The rifle used in the ambush that killed Hostotipaquillo police chief Luis Lucio Rosales Astorga on January 29 has been traced back to Lone Wolf Trading Company of Glendale, AZ–which is the store the ATF used to supply guns to straw purchasers during Operation Fast and Furious.

And according to the Los Angeles Times, an internal DOJ memo does in fact link the weapon used against Astorga to the infamous operation. 

Approximately 2,500 firearms were sold during the operation, but only 1,200 to 1,300 were eventually recovered. Astorga was killed when gunmen ambushed his patrol car and opened fire, killing one of the police chief’s body guards as well. The police chief’s wife and second body guard were wounded but survived.

The DOJ report on the use of the Fast and Furious weapon read thus: “HOMICIDE – WILLFUL -KILL – PUB OFF – GUN” — which is ATF code for “Homicide, Willful Killing of a Public Official, Gun.”

The rifle used in the shooting was purchased by Jacob A. Montelongo. It was but one of 109 weapons he purchased during Fast and Furious. 

To date, “some 211 people [have been] killed by Fast and Furious weapons in Mexico.” In the U.S., Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was gunned down with a Fast and Furious weapon in December 2010.

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.