Pima County SWAT Officers' Shooting at Former Marine 71 Times Was Justified, Probe Concludes. Suspect Died in Hail of Bullets

Firing more than 70 shots at anyone might seem like overkill, but the Pima County Attorney's Office determined that the 71 shots the county's SWAT Team fired at 26-year-old Jose Guerena were justified.Guerena, an Iraq War veteran, was hit 22 times and killed in the hail of bullets, according to the...

By James King

June 14, 2011

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Firing more than 70 shots at anyone might seem like overkill, but the Pima County Attorney's Office determined that the 71 shots the county's SWAT Team fired at 26-year-old Jose Guerena were justified.

Guerena, an Iraq War veteran, was hit 22 times and killed in the hail of bullets, according to the PCAO's report.

He was the target of drug investigation that netted a whopping total of one bag of marijuana, which was found in a different home also targeted in the investigation.

Guerena was killed on May 5 in his home near Tucson, when the Pinal County Sheriff's Department's SWAT Team stormed his house and opened fire.

At the time of the shooting, Guerena was holding an AR-15 assault rifle, which the Arizona Daily Star is now reporting was pointed at the SWAT officers.

See the video of the shooting below (if video doesn't load, try opening it in the Firefox web browser).

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