The shooting death of
a San Francisco woman had already fueled a fresh round of fierce debate over
U.S. immigration policies. Now a new detail in the investigation adds another
dimension to the discussion.
The gun used in the
killing of Kate Steinle belonged to a federal agent, a source
with knowledge of the investigation said.
It wasn't immediately
clear what federal agency the gun was tied to, how it ended up in the hands of
the alleged shooter or whether the revelation about where the weapon came from
would affect the case.
"It doesn't in
terms of charging this defendant," CNN legal analyst Danny Cevallos said,
"but it may mean that somebody else is going to be on the hook, and
soon."
The undocumented
immigrant who's accused in the killing earlier told CNN affiliate KGO-TV that he found the gun wrapped inside a T-shirt
on the ground.
Juan Francisco
Lopez-Sanchez, who has a felony record and has been deported to Mexico five times, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder and
weapons charges. His bail was set at $5 million.
Flanked by several
public defenders and a translator, he seemed to struggle to understand what was
going on in court, answering the judge's questions about court dates by
repeating that he was not guilty.
At Tuesday's
arraignment hearing, a prosecutor described Lopez-Sanchez as a danger to the
public as she asked the judge to set as high a bail as possible.
"People are
concerned about public safety," Assistant District Attorney Diana Garcia said.
"This was an act of random violence. And the defendant claimed to have
found this gun shortly before just firing it at somebody at close range,
shooting an innocent victim in the back."
Kate Steinle died last Wednesday after being
shot while walking at a San Francisco pier.
Matt Gonzalez, a
public defender representing Lopez-Sanchez, said it's very likely the shooting
was accidental and stressed that his client was not a violent person.
"There was no
motive whatsoever for this defendant to cause any harm to the deceased,"
he said. "He did not know her. There's no allegation that this was any
kind of crime, such as a robbery attempt or anything like that."
The investigation into
the shooting is ongoing. But already the controversial case has drawn the
attention of politicians campaigning for the nation's top job, casting a
spotlight on U.S. immigration laws and what role local authorities should play
in enforcing them.
The key question: Did
San Francisco policies set the stage for the shooting, putting a criminal on
the street instead of into the hands of federal authorities who could have
deported him again?
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