A U.S. citizen and father of three was shot from behind by a federal immigration officer in Ontario, California, last week, according to attorneys for the man, who spoke with The Los Angeles Times.

Attorneys say Carlos Jimenez, 25, was attempting to alert agents to nearby children when the incident occurred, while federal officials maintain that the officer discharged their weapon in self-defense after the driver reversed his vehicle toward them.

“An ICE officer, fearing for his life, fired defensive shots at the vehicle. The subject fled the scene and abandoned his vehicle,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek.

Why It Matters

Under the administration’s deportation campaign, several U.S. citizens have been questioned or detained by immigration agents, raising concerns about racial profiling and due process rights.

What To Know

The shooting took place around 6:30 a.m. on October 30, as federal immigration agents were conducting a vehicle stop on South Vineyard Avenue, according to DHS.

DHS said the driver, Jimenez, pulled up in a separate car and began reversing toward officers, prompting one to open fire.

McLaughlin said that Jimenez reversed directly toward officers without stopping, prompting what she described as defensive gunfire.

“During the stop, an unknown individual, not the target, in a vehicle pulled in front of the officers. Officers ordered the driver to leave the scene. As the driver began to pull away, the car stopped and attempted to run officers over by reversing directly at them without stopping,” McLaughlin said.

Jimenez’s lawyers offer a different account. They say he stopped to alert the agents that schoolchildren were about to gather nearby, then began to back up to leave when he was shot once in the back of his right shoulder. The bullet remains lodged in his body, they said.

Jimenez was later charged in federal court with assault on a federal officer. His attorneys argue the charge is an attempt to justify what they call an unlawful use of force.

Jimenez, a resident of the mobile home park on the same street, went up to the officers to inform them “that there’s kids that are coming out to wait for the bus,” according to his lawyers, who spoke with the LA Times.

Jimenez is charged with assaulting a federal officer and faces potential prison time for allegedly interfering with an immigration enforcement operation, according to United States Attorney Bill Essayli.

According to a complaint filed in the Central District of California and reviewed by The Los Angeles Times, Jimenez approached three immigration officers and became involved in a verbal altercation. An ICE agent reportedly told him to leave, then drew pepper spray after holstering his firearm. The complaint states that Jimenez moved his vehicle forward, then quickly reversed toward a Border Patrol agent and the stopped Honda containing three people.

No footage of the incident has been publicly released.

DHS has made several accusations against multiple U.S. citizens, accusing them of impeding law enforcement operations and barreling at agents behind the wheel.

The shooting is the second incident involving ICE officers in Southern California in just over a week. In a separate case last week in South Los Angeles, agents fired at a man after his vehicle was boxed in. Carlitos Ricardo Parias was struck in the elbow, and a deputy marshal was hit by a ricocheted bullet. Authorities said Parias had attempted to drive his car toward the agents’ vehicles.

California is a key battleground state surrounding immigration enforcement as federal authorities escalate operations under the Trump administration’s aggressive mass deportation policy.

Resources from several federal agencies, including Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the DEA, the FBI, and the ATF, are being pulled together to carry out coordinated immigration enforcement operations as the administration seeks to deport millions of migrants living in the country without legal status.

What People Are Saying

McLaughlin told Newsweek: “This is another example of the threats our ICE officers are facing day-in and day-out as they risk their lives to enforce the law and arrest criminals. ICE officers now face a 1000% increase in assaults against them including cars being used as weapons and death threats against our agents are up 8000%. This violence must end. Let me be clear: Anyone who assaults, impedes, obstructs, or threatens the lives of federal officers will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“He was telling them, ‘Excuse me. Can you guys please, you know, please wrap this up.’ And immediately, the masked agent pulls out a gun and exchanges some words,” Cynthia Santiago, a lawyer for Carlos Jimenez, said. “[The agent is] also shaking his pepper spray.”

“He’s in fear, and he’s trying to get out of the situation,” she said.

United States Attorney Bill Essayli wrote in a post on X: Do not assault or interfere with federal agents doing their jobs. If an agent feels threatened, you may get shot, and you will be arrested and charged.

Congresswoman Norma Torres told Eyewitness News: “They are heavily armed, masked individuals, storming neighborhoods and taking people down simply because of the color of their skin, or how they look. This behavior must stop.”

Update, 11/03/25, 09:50 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from DHS.