The badge of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.
Michael M. Santiago | getty images
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents shot a man in California on Tuesday after he allegedly “discharged his vehicle with a weapon” and tried to run over an officer, the Department of Homeland Security said.
According to authorities, ICE agents were conducting a targeted vehicle stop in the Central Valley city of Paterson to arrest Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, who is allegedly a member of the 18th Street Gang wanted for questioning in connection with a murder in El Salvador. According to federal authorities, the gang is based in Los Angeles and has more than 100,000 members.
“As officers approached the car, the wanted gang member fired his weapon at the officer in an attempt to subdue the officer,” Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said in a statement.
“Following their training, our officers fired defensive shots to protect themselves, their fellow agents and the public,” Lyons said. “Illegal alien taken to local hospital.”
“The FBI is on scene,” he said. “This is a developing situation and we will update the public as more information becomes available.”
The firings come amid a partial shutdown of DHS that began in February when Democrats in Congress refused to vote for continued funding of the department if it included money for ICE and parts of Customs and Border Protection.
DHS has faced intense criticism since January, when federal agents carrying out immigration enforcement duties shot and killed two US citizens in separate incidents in Minneapolis.
On January 7, an ICE officer killed Renee Nicole Good, who was driving her car in his direction.
On January 24, a Border Patrol officer shot ICU nurse Alex Pretty after she was restrained by other officers and fell to the ground.
Videos from both of those shootings contradicted early claims by Trump administration officials about the incidents.
on monday, the new York Times Video of the third shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant by an immigration agent in Minneapolis contradicts the agent’s claim that he was beaten by three assailants with shovels and brooms for about three minutes before he was shot with a gun, reports said.
The Times reported, “Instead, the confrontation shown in the video lasts about 12 seconds and shows two men struggling with the agent. It does not show any sustained attack with a shovel.”
The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office said in a post on Facebook Tuesday that it was “assisting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in our jurisdiction with an officer-involved shooting” in Paterson.
“At this time, we can confirm that no local law enforcement was involved in the incident,” the sheriff’s office said.
