An ICE agent fatally shot a Colombian national during an immigration enforcement operation in the US state of Maine. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were watching an address in Biddeford at around 07:00 EDT (11:00 GMT) on Monday. When they tried to stop a vehicle leaving that address, "the vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon," ICE said. The driver was struck and killed.
The name of the deceased is not being released until formal identification and family notification. The Embassy of Colombia confirmed the man was a Colombian national. The Embassy said it has "requested information and clarification" from DHS "regarding the circumstances surrounding this lamentable death" and will follow the case closely.
According to the Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition, the man was a 26-year-old Colombian authorized to work in the US. "He was a member of our community, a neighbor, and a human being whose life was cut tragically short," the organization said.
Protests broke out in Biddeford after the shooting. One witness told the Biddeford Gazette he saw lights flashing from an unmarked white SUV and "at least two officers wearing green ICE vests." Another witness, Mary Hayes, said: "I watched a wife fall to her knees looking at her husband's dead body on the ground. I watched a little girl crying with a little pink backpack on because she's never going to see her father again."
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said the incident involved an officer from ICE's Enforcement Removal Operations department, and the agent has been placed on leave pending investigation. Initial statements indicate "the subject attempted to flee in a vehicle in the direction of the officer and was fatally shot."
Senator Susan Collins said the inspector general's office for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is taking over the investigation. Senator Angus King initially was told by DHS chief Markwayne Mullin that the man was a target of an arrest warrant, but later Mullin said he was not. King said Mullin told him the man was shot after attempting to drive his car at police, and that officers did not wear body cameras.
The incident draws renewed scrutiny on DHS and ICE. On 7 July, an ICE officer fatally shot 52-year-old Mexican builder Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston. Federal officials later acknowledged he was not the intended target but said he tried to run over an ICE agent.