April 7 - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers shot and wounded a man in Patterson, California, after authorities say the suspect attempted to strike an officer with his vehicle.
Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in a statement that the FBI was present at the scene and the wounded man was transported to a hospital for treatment.
"As officers approached the car, the wanted gang member weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run an officer over. Following their training, our officers fired defensive shots to protect themselves, their fellow agents, and the public," Lyons said.
ICE identified the individual as a suspected gang member from El Salvador who was in the United States illegally and had been wanted for questioning in connection with a homicide, the agency said.
Officials said the incident occurred in Patterson, a farm town of about 25,000 residents located in California's San Joaquin Valley, roughly 90 miles (145 km) southeast of San Francisco. The agency statement was not independently verified by other news organizations.
The Department of Homeland Security previously reported in January that ICE officers faced a marked increase in vehicular attacks during the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, recording 66 such incidents compared with two in the prior year.
The agency statement and the DHS statistic together frame the incident as part of a broader pattern of attacks on officers, according to the information released by authorities.
Context and immediate outcomes
According to ICE, officers fired after an alleged attempt by the driver to use his vehicle as a weapon. The wounded man was taken to a hospital and federal investigators from the FBI were engaged at the scene, per the agency's statement.
The agency identified the suspect as an individual from El Salvador who was in the country without legal status and who had been sought for questioning in relation to a homicide investigation.
Further notes
ICE described the shooting as a defensive response by officers acting in accordance with their training. The account of events provided by the agency has not been independently confirmed by other reporting, and details remain limited to the official statements released about the episode.