Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) opened fire during an operation in Ontario, prompting street closures and a federal investigation.
Prior to the shooting, ICE agents were conducting a traffic stop on Vineyard Avenue at St. Andrews Drive when an unknown person in a car pulled up in front of the agents, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the federal parent agency that oversees ICE.
“The car stopped and attempted to run officers over by reversing directly at them without stopping,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to NBC Los Angeles. “An ICE officer, fearing for his life, fired defensive shots at the vehicle.”
McLaughlin added the driver, accused of attempting to strike ICE agents with his car, ran away from the scene and left behind the vehicle.
The DHS said the initial traffic stop targeted another person.
Ontario police confirmed the shooting Thursday morning, confirming their officers were asked to provide traffic control and secure the scene while the federal investigation continued. The Ontario Police Department added that its officers were not involved in the shooting.
This is the second shooting involving federal agents in Southern California in recent days. Last week, a man was shot in the elbow, and a deputy U.S. Marshal was struck with a ricochet bullet when ICE agents opened fire in South LA.
The man shot by immigration agents in last week’s incident was later identified as Carlos Richard Parias, also known as Richard LA on TikTok, documenting ICE activity in the community. Parias was in federal custody as of Thursday.
The DHS had said ICE agents opened fire on E. 20th Street near Washington Boulevard when Parias allegedly rammed a law enforcement vehicle with his car as he tried to drive away. Federal officials accused him of driving his car back and forth, hitting law enforcement cars that had boxed him in. Officials said Parias was trying to escape an immigration arrest.
Carlos Jurados, attorney for Parias, had denied the allegations, calling his client a “pacifist guy.”
“He’s very calm, very respectful, a lot of the police officers know him. They know that he’s very respectful. In fact, the city of Los Angeles has awarded him for the work he does in the community, so we find it very odd what’s being said about him,” Jurados said last week.