Roll of Honor
John A. Rector
Incident
Border Patrol Inspector John Rector was accidentally shot and killed by a fellow agent who was discussing gun limitations with a third agent at the Chula Vista Sector headquarters in San Ysidro, California. The two agents had unloaded the .357 caliber handgun while examining it, reloaded it, and placed it in a drawer as they began to discuss a different weapon. The discussion returned to the .357 and one of the agents removed it from the drawer, not realizing it had been reloaded. When he pulled the trigger the gun discharged and a round passed through the wall and struck Agent Rector in the head as he sat at his desk. He was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to the wound several hours later. Agent Rector was a WWI veteran and had served with the United States Border Patrol for 28 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two daughters, and one granddaughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-EE9CCA06- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Border Patrol Inspector Rector gave the United States Department of Justice 28 years.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
John A. Rector served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Border Patrol Inspector John A. Rector is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In DC, 454 of 1,419 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At United States Department of Justice - Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Border Patrol, 46 of 68 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 67.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John A. Rector's cause is highlighted.
How John A. Rector Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John A. Rector is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
67 officers from United States Department of Justice - Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Border Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
