Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents shot a man, who was then taken to a hospital, after they conducted a targeted traffic stop in California\u2019s Central Valley, the agency said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said in a statement the ICE officers fired defensive shots after the person they stopped attempted to run an agent over.<\/p>\n
The shooting happened near Interstate 5 in Patterson, about 90 miles south of Sacramento.<\/p>\n
The Department of Homeland Security statement identified the target of the vehicle stop as Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, an undocumented immigrant and \u201c18th Street Gang member wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection to a murder.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs 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,\u201d the statement continued.<\/p>\n
CNN is working to determine whether Mendoza Hernandez has an attorney.<\/p>\n
Two dashcam videos obtained by CNN captured the incident, as a car is seen crossing over the highway lane divider after being surrounded by agents, while one agent runs out of the way of the car. It\u2019s not clear exactly when agents fired at the vehicle because the footage does not have sound.<\/p>\n
DHS says its agents have been the target of increasing violence, citing more than 180 vehicle attacks <\/a>since Trump\u2019s second term started. But the administration\u2019s initial accounts of shootings involving federal agents have, in some cases, changed over time \u2013 or been proven wrong altogether.<\/p>\n \u201cAs is established practice, we expect our federal law enforcement partners to appropriately collaborate with state and local law enforcement as this matter is investigated,\u201d California Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s office said on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n The FBI is conducting an investigation, Acting Special Agent in Charge Eugene Wu said. The Stanislaus County Sheriff\u2019s Office told CNN it\u2019s assisting, and it confirmed no local law enforcement was involved with the incident.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you have any videos or information that will help our investigation, we welcome your information,\u201d Wu said in a plea to the public at a brief news conference Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n Dashcam footage captures incident<\/p>\n At least three law enforcement agents are seen surrounding a black vehicle on a road near Interstate 5, video obtained by CNN shows. The black vehicle then backs up and its passenger-side door hits another car on the road.<\/p>\n Agents then point their guns at the vehicle as it stops for about two seconds. The car then turns left and crosses over the highway lane divider, while an agent runs out of the way of the car.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear when exactly agents fired at the vehicle.<\/p>\n Christina Valencia, whose Tesla captured one of the videos obtained by CNN, said she noticed the flashing lights from her car.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of a sudden I heard like a shot fired\u2026 and then maybe like 10 seconds later, I heard about five or six more go off,\u201d she said. She believes that an agent first fired after the car reversed, but before it started to drive over the lane divider.<\/p>\n Video credit: Christina Valencia<\/p>\n After the car started to drive towards the lane divider, she said she heard about five or six more shots.<\/p>\n CNN cannot independently confirm Valencia\u2019s account of the gunfire.<\/p>\n From there, the two agents ran to their trucks and then headed in the direction of the suspect, she said. They ultimately ended up under a nearby overpass.<\/p>\n When the shots started, she said she put her car in reverse.<\/p>\n \u201cI was scared because I was like there\u2019s nowhere for me to go,\u201d Valencia said.<\/p>\n Car-involved incidents are a mark of the federal immigration crackdown<\/p>\n While agents have been subjected to violence<\/a> since the start of Trump\u2019s crackdown on illegal immigration last year, DHS has also at times faced a crisis of credibility<\/a> regarding claims it has made in the aftermath of some high-profile incidents. In arrests and use-of-force encounters across the country, versions provided by DHS of some events have been contradicted<\/a> by eyewitness accounts and bystander video and challenged by independent judges.<\/p>\n Altercations in or around vehicles have been a steady symbol<\/a> of the administration\u2019s immigration crackdown, including car crashes<\/a> between federal agents and people who try to flee, traffic stops turned violent<\/a> and alleged rammings involving pro-immigrant activists.<\/p>\n The phrase \u201cweaponized his\/her vehicle\u201d has been repeated by officials<\/a> including former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem when she described Renee Good, a Minneapolis mother shot and killed by an ICE agent this year. Good\u2019s death prompted widespread protests and her burgundy SUV has become a recognizable symbol of the chaotic immigration operations in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n 18th Street Gang is a designated terrorist group<\/p>\n DHS said Mendoza Hernandez, the man agents were targeting Tuesday, is a member of the 18th Street Gang. The Department of Justice<\/a> has said the group is a \u201cwell-known and established international criminal organization and violent street gang\u201d with members and associates across the United States. It began as a Mexican-American street gang and now has more than 100,000 members in the United States, the Drug Enforcement Agency<\/a> says.<\/p>\n The State Department last year designated the gang, also known as Barrio 18<\/a>, a Foreign Terrorist Organization<\/a>.<\/p>\n Earlier Tuesday in Brooklyn, New York, a high-ranking member of the gang was sentenced to more than 35 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy in connection with the 2017 murder of a man in upstate New York, the DOJ said. Two other gang members were previously sentenced as part of the same conspiracy.<\/p>\n Twelve members and associates of the 18th Street Gang were arrested last month in Los Angeles on charges including murder in the death of a drug trafficker, the DEA said.<\/p>\n This story has been updated with additional information.<\/p>\n CNN\u2019s Melissa Gray and Jada Furlow contributed to this report.<\/p>\n