9OYS Continuing Coverage
"Brian was bigger than life": Terry family remembers slain border patrol agent
Reporter: Marcelino Benito
Web Producer: Rikki Mitchell
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - It's always hard for Josie, Brian Terry's mother, to come back to Tucson. The memories of what happened to her son just a few miles south still hurt.
"They should know Brian was a true American hero," Josie said. "He knew the risks. It was his choice. He died doing what he loved."
Terry was shot and killed Dec. 14, 2010 in a remote desert area near Rio Rico, Ariz. Mexican police arrested a suspect in his killing earlier this month in Sonora, Mexico. A total of five men are charged with Terry's death. One is on trial and three others remain fugitives.
The Terry family has channeled its heartache into the Brian Terry Foundation. It's why they were back in Tucson Monday. It's their way of making sure Brian lives forever.
"Brian was bigger than life," said Robert Heyer, Brian's cousin. "Brian made a statement in whatever he did. He was a perfectionist. A great friend, a great brother, a great son. A great border patrol agent. That's why we have a challenge at the Brian Terry Foundation. We have to match what Brian was in life."
But for the Terry family, honoring their fallen hero also means seeking the truth in his death. It means pushing the government for answers on Operation Fast and Furious, the failed gun trafficking operation.Two guns found at the scene were bought by a member of a gun-smuggling ring that Operation Fast and Furious was investigating.
"We're still looking for answers, Heyer said. "80,000 documents are being withheld from congressional investigators. The American public deserves these answers. The Terry family deserves these answers."
Those answers could come in the Fast and Furious report set to be released later this week.
The Terry family will travel to Naco, Arizona on Tuesday as a border patrol station is set to be named in Brian Terry's honor.
For more information on the Brian Terry Foundation, click here.
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