Two people were hospitalized Wednesday morning in an incident in suburban Maryland where federal officials say ICE officers fired their weapons at a pair of undocumented immigrants in a van who were allegedly trying to ram the agents.
Police were called to Glen Burnie, Anne Arundel County, around 10:50 a.m. Wednesday morning.
ICE officers were conducting a “targeted enforcement operation” there and identified the driver of the van, Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins, an illegal immigrant from Portugal, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Solomon Antonio Serrano-Esquivel, a fellow undocumented person from El Salvador, was in the passenger’s seat, DHS said.
“The driver refused and attempted to flee, then weaponized his vehicle and began ramming his van into several ICE vehicles,” according to DHS. “He then drove his van directly at ICE officers, attempting to run them over.”
“Fearing for their lives and public safety, the ICE officers defensively fired their service weapons, striking the driver,” the agency added. “Sousa-Martins then wrecked his van between two buildings, injuring the passenger.”
The individuals are both in stable condition and the ICE officers were “not severely injured,” DHS said.
Anne Arundel Council member Allison Pickard said she was alarmed by the gunfire in the normally quiet, residential area, which took place on Christmas Eve morning when children were outside.
“It’s concerning that there was open gunfire in my community involving ICE agents,” Pickard told The Washington Post. “There’s a waterfall effect to these things happening, no matter who is involved.”
Anne Arundel police, the FBI, and ICE were all seen at the scene of the shooting, where a wrecked white van could be observed in a stand of nearby trees.
Local police will investigate the shooting, and the FBI will probe the alleged attempt to ram federal agents, while ICE will conduct its own internal investigation.
Resident James Hicks told the Baltimore Banner he heard ICE chased the man from an area Walmart store into the neighborhood, at which point the van driver maneuvered between two houses and stopped in a wooded area. He then heard three gunshots and later saw the driver on a stretcher.
“Shot him three times, I seen him laid out,” Hicks told the outlet.
The man “shouldn’t have tried to run them over,” Hicks added.
The Anne Arundel County Fire Department told The Independent the injured individuals were taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in nearby Baltimore for treatment.
The Independent has contacted the FBI Baltimore field office and the Anne Arundel County police department for comment.
“I am aware of the ICE-involved shooting that occurred earlier today in Glen Burnie,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore wrote on X. “As information surrounding the incident continues to emerge, we will remain in touch with local officials and are standing by to provide support for the community.”
There have been at least nine shootings during immigration operations since the Trump administration took office, according to a database from gun violence news site The Trace.
