Today marks the anniversary of the day that U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was shot and killed in 2010 near Rio Rico, Arizona, while attempting to apprehend a group of armed subjects.
Started under George W. Bush as "Project Gunrunner"—"Gunwalking", or "letting guns walk", was a tactic used by the ATF where they ”purposely allowed licensed firearms dealers to sell weapons to illegal straw buyers, hoping to track the guns to Mexican drug cartel leaders and arrest them.” The utilization of this policy, known later as “Operation Fast and Furious”, continued for years and expanded under the Obama Administration. Only after revelations prompted by the investigation into the death of Brian Terry did it become known the extent of these activities.
The response from the ATF and the Department of Justice during investigations into gunwalking were furtive and obstructive. Attorney General Eric Holder became the first U.S. Attorney General in history to be held in both criminal and civil contempt. There is virtually no way to know how many American citizens and people in other countries have lost their lives because of the activities and questionable ethics of the ATF.
To learn more about Operation Fast and Furious and gunwalking, read Operation Fast and Furious: The Forgotten History of the ATF's Notorious Gunwalking Scandal at Ammo.com.