ICE agents open fire on van driver who allegedly tried to run them over on Christmas Eve
Two people were injured after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents opened fire on a van in Maryland on Christmas Eve when the driver allegedly tried to run them over during a law enforcement operation, officials said.
Anne Arundel County Police Department spokesperson Justin Mulacahy said officers responded to West Court in Glen Burnie at about 10:50 a.m. Wednesday for reports of a shooting involving ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations agents.
A preliminary investigation found that ICE agents were conducting a detail in the area when they approached a white van, according to police.
Police said the driver allegedly attempted to run the agents over, prompting ICE agents to open fire on the vehicle.
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The van then accelerated before stopping in a wooded area of a nearby residential neighborhood.
Mulacahy said one person inside the van was struck by gunfire and transported to an area hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.
Another person outside the van sustained minor injuries and was treated at an area hospital.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on X that the agents identified the driver of the van as Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins, an illegal alien from Portugal. Solomon Antonio Serrano-Esquivel, an illegal alien from El Salvador, was in the passenger.
According to DHS, the officers approached the van and told Sousa-Martins to turn off the engine, but instead, he refused and attempted to flee. Sousa-Martins also allegedly began to ram his vehicle into several ICE vehicles before driving the van at ICE agents.
"Fearing for their lives and public safety, the ICE officers defensively fired their service weapons, striking the driver," DHS said. "Sousa-Martins then wrecked his van between two buildings, injuring the passenger."
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The agents rendered medical aid to both the driver and passenger, DHS added, before they were transported to the hospital for treatment.
"Our brave officers are risking their lives every day to keep American communities safe by arresting and removing illegal aliens from our streets," DHS said. "Continued efforts to encourage illegal aliens and violent agitators to actively resist ICE will only lead to more violent incidents, the extremist rhetoric must stop."
The incident has triggered at least three investigations. The Anne Arundel County Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division will review the shooting, while the FBI will investigate the alleged assault on federal agents.
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ICE will also conduct an internal investigation through its Office of Professional Responsibility.
Anne Arundel County Police Chief Amal Awad said the multiple investigations are standard procedure in incidents involving federal and local agencies and emphasized that her department was not involved in the shooting.
"No Anne Arundel resources were involved in this incident, nor were they present," she said.
No further details were immediately available as the investigations continue.