ICE Shooting in Biddeford Kills Colombian Man Who Was Not Arrest Target
A 25-year-old Colombian man was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Biddeford, Maine. Officials later confirmed he was not the intended target of the arrest warrant.
ICE Agent Kills Colombian Man in Biddeford — Victim Was Not the Intended Target
A 25-year-old Colombian man was fatally shot by a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday morning, according to mainepublic.org. Federal and state investigators are now probing the incident, with officials confirming that the man killed was not the person agents had been seeking.
The shooting occurred after 7 a.m. on a residential street. ICE spokesperson said agents had been conducting surveillance at the last known address of an individual who had been ordered to leave the country.
"An illegal alien departed the residence in a vehicle," the agency said in a statement. "ICE law enforcement attempted to conduct a vehicle stop. The vehicle attempted to flee the scene and fearing for public safety an officer discharged his weapon."
By late Monday, significant questions remained about whether the man shot was actually the intended target of the arrest warrant.
Senator King: Victim Was Not the Warrant Subject
Speaking at the Portland Jetport earlier Monday, U.S. Senator Angus King said that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin had initially told him the shooting victim was the subject of an immigration-related arrest warrant. "He had been given an order to leave the country," said King, an independent. "He was in a vehicle, pulled out in the vehicle, and the term the Secretary used was 'weaponized the vehicle.' He was then shot by an ICE agent."
Hours later, however, King's office issued a correction. Spokesman Matthew Felling said Mullin had updated King to confirm that the man shot was not the target of the warrant. "Sen. King continues to emphasise the need for a full and transparent investigation," Felling said.
King also raised concern that the ICE agents involved in the operation were not wearing body cameras. He said the investigation is being led by the FBI.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said in a statement that the shooting "requires a full and impartial investigation of what happened." Collins added Monday night that the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general office in Boston had taken over the investigation in cooperation with the FBI.
Governor Mills Condemns Enforcement Operation
Maine Governor Janet Mills responded sharply to the updated information. "This development makes this tragedy even more disturbing and infuriating, and it underscores the reckless and haphazard manner in which immigration enforcement operations are being conducted in Maine and across the country," Mills wrote on X. "This has to end."
The state attorney general's office confirmed in a press release that an enforcement operation was underway "when the subject attempted to flee in a vehicle in the direction of the officer and was fatally shot." The officer has been placed on administrative leave, in line with standard protocol for police-involved shootings.
Eyewitnesses Describe the Scene
Residents of Biddeford recounted what they saw and heard during the incident. Em Akerly said she initially thought she heard a car backfiring before one clear shot rang out, followed by several more in quick succession. She then looked out her window and saw a white car moving slowly at an intersection, with two officers pressed against its door trying to stop it.
"As they were corralling the car, all these other people in plain vehicles and plain clothes with vests started running down the street," Akerly said. "I didn't see the man at all and I didn't see the man once he got hit. It didn't really click until a man came running up the street and said 'ICE just killed someone.'"
JoAnn Martin said a woman she spoke with had witnessed the man lying in the road. "Watching his little one look at him in the street, dead," Martin said. "How do you find words for that? Feels hopeless."
Marcia Lifshitz-Haines was diverted by authorities while driving through Biddeford and was told by a community member that ICE had killed somebody. "ICE does not belong on the streets in the United States murdering people," she said. "I am embarrassed and I am horrified and I am appalled."
Immigrant Rights Groups Respond; Rally Draws 200
The Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition and Presente! Maine stated Monday afternoon that the man who was killed had been authorised to work in the United States and had been issued a Social Security number. The organisations called for a "prompt, independent, and transparent investigation" of each agency and officer involved.
"Today, a 26-year-old member of our community is dead following an incident involving ICE," said Mufalo Chitam, executive director of the Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition. "We are grieving, we are furious, and we will not allow his death to be treated as routine or inevitable."
Approximately 200 people gathered in the streets of Biddeford for a midday rally, organised on short notice, to demand that ICE cease operations in Maine.
The Colombian embassy in Washington, D.C., confirmed that consular staff are in contact with federal officials and local organisations assisting with the case. Embassy officials said they are working to formally confirm the victim's identity and nationality.
Source: Google News JM — Crime