By Fernando Santos
The New York Times
NACO, Ariz. — “There’s the sign,” Kent Terry Jr. exclaimed as the chartered bus pulled into the Border Patrol station, a compound on an expanse of sand and brush bearing the name of his younger brother, who was killed in a shootout linked to a botched gun-smuggling operation known as Fast and Furious.
Some of the passengers squeezed their faces against the windows. Mr. Terry took pictures with his cellphone. Michelle, the oldest of the four Terry children, pressed a knuckle against the corner of her eye, as if to ward off tears.
Before them, a square of brick and concrete planted on the ground announced: “Brian A. Terry Border Patrol Station.” On the night of Dec. 14, 2010, a bullet pierced Agent Terry’s back, severing his spine, during a firefight with Mexican bandits in a national forest west of Rio Rico, Ariz., 15 miles from the border. One of the bandits was hit and captured. Four others fled, though one was arrested in Mexico this month. All of them were indicted in July for Agent Terry’s killing.