Two people were hospitalized after federal agents shot into a van during an immigration operation in Maryland on Christmas Eve, federal officials said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers approached a van in a quiet area of Glen Burnie, south of Baltimore, on Wednesday morning and instructed the driver to turn off the engine, according to Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin. The department described the driver, who is from Portugal, and his passenger, who is from El Salvador, as being in the United States illegally; The department said the driver had overstayed his visa which had expired in 2009.
According to McLaughlin, the driver refused to turn off the engine and “drove his van straight at ICE officers”, hitting ICE vehicles while trying to flee. McLaughlin said the agents fired their service weapons at the driver in self-defense.
The driver of the van was shot and it crashed between two buildings, McLaughlin said. The passenger suffered injuries in the accident. Both men were taken to a local hospital, where they are in stable condition, McLaughlin said. He said the ICE agents “were not seriously injured.”
McLaughlin said the incident remains under investigation.
The incident follows months of tension between federal agents, local officials and community members as the Trump administration ramps up its immigration enforcement actions. In September, a man opened fire at an ICE facility in Dallas, killing two detainees and wounding another in what officials described as an anti-ICE attack. In October, federal officers in Los Angeles shot an immigrant and a U.S. marshal during a “traffic enforcement stop,” according to DHS. Last month, two members of the National Guard, deployed to Washington, D.C., in what the Trump administration described as a crime crackdown were shot in a “targeted” attack, officials said; One died and the other was admitted to hospital in critical condition.
The Anne Arundel County Police Department will investigate Wednesday’s shooting, while the FBI will investigate the alleged attempt to harm ICE officers, said Anne Arundel County Police Department spokesman Justin Mulcahy.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore Said in a post on He was aware of an “ICE-related shooting” in Glen Burnie.
“As information continues to emerge about this incident, we will remain in contact with local authorities and stand by to provide assistance to the community,” Moore said.
Alison Pickard, a council member from Anne Arundel County, called on officials to release more information.
“Our community deserves answers – and a clear, accountable process for investigating and disclosing findings, as well as an assurance that the strategy will focus more on de-escalating tensions,” he said in a statement.
Anne Arundel County Executive Stuart Pittman criticizes Trump administration’s immigration actions In a statement to WTTG,
“Federal law enforcement in our jurisdictions are operating without the traditional notification of local police, and often without identification,” Pittman said. “This is a recipe for violence, and that’s what we’ve experienced in our county today.”
