ICE agents shoot man in California after he 'weaponized' vehicle, DHS says

The badge of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.

Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents shot a man in California on Tuesday, after he allegedly “weaponized his vehicle” and tried to run over an officer, the Department of Homeland Security said.

The agents were conducting a targeted vehicle stop in the Central Valley town of Patterson to arrest Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, who is allegedly a member of the 18th Street Gang wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection to a murder, according to authorities. That gang is based in Los Angeles and has more than 100,000 members, according to federal authorities.

“As officers approached the car, the wanted gang member weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run an officer over,” said Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, in a statement.

“Following their training, our officers fired defensive shots to protect themselves, their fellow agents, and the public,” Lyons said. “The illegal alien was taken to a local hospital.”

“The FBI is on the scene,” he said. “This is a developing situation and we will update the public when more information is available.”

The shooting comes amid a partial shutdown of the DHS that began in February when Democrats in Congress balked at voting for continued funding of the department if it included money for ICE and parts of Customs and Border Protection.

DHS has faced strong criticism since January, when federal agents engaged in immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis in separate incidents, shot and killed two U.S. citizens.

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An ICE officer on Jan. 7 killed Renee Nicole Good, who was driving her car in his direction.

On Jan. 24, a Border Patrol officer shot ICU nurse Alex Pretti after he had been restrained by other officers and was on the ground.

Video of both of those shootings contradicted initial claims about the incidents by Trump administration officials.

The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office in a post on Facebook said it is “assisting with an officer-involved shooting in our jurisdiction involving agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).”

“At this time, we can confirm that no local law enforcement was involved in the incident,” the sheriff’s office said.

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