Growing up in Pico Rivera, Steve Gomez never
thought he’d travel the world hunting terrorists and drug dealers, but
that’s exactly what he does as Special Agent in charge of
counterterrorism at the FBI’s Los Angeles office.

Gomez shared his fascinating stories with eighth-grade students during career day at Newton Middle School in Hacienda Heights.

The affable agent said he got into law enforcement after being accosted by a gang member in school.

“I grew up in Pico Rivera where there were a lot of gangs. One
day, a rival gang came to our school looking for a certain guy,” Gomez
recalled.

“They asked us if we knew where he was, but we didn’t know. So he put a gun in our faces and asked if we remembered

now,”
the FBI agent remembered. “Fortunately, they later ran away, but it was a
shocking experience in the eighth grade. That’s why I became a law
enforcement officer.”

Gomez ended up working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He
has traveled around the world investigating crimes against U.S.
citizens.

Read more in Rich Irwin’s story FBI.