CHICAGO — A woman was shot by federal agents in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood after Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials say agents were boxed in by multiple vehicles and rammed during an incident linked to ongoing tensions surrounding immigration enforcement, CBS News reported.
The Oct. 4 incident unfolded as federal agents were patrolling amid protests against immigration enforcement near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.
What happened
According to DHS, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents were boxed in and rammed by multiple vehicles while on patrol, prompting one CBP officer to fire at a suspect who allegedly attempted to run them over. The suspect was armed with a semi-automatic weapon and had been named in a CBP intelligence bulletin for doxxing federal agents online. She later drove herself to a repair shop, was taken to the hospital for her injuries and has since been taken into custody by the FBI.
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DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said agents were surrounded by up to 10 vehicles during the incident.
As the situation escalated, DHS says more individuals arrived at the scene and began throwing smoke, gas, rocks and bottles at federal agents. During the response, ICE agents arrived and were targeted as well. DHS says a second driver followed ICE officers and rammed their vehicle in an attempt to run them off the road. That individual has since been arrested and is in Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) custody.
In a separate incident, an ICE vehicle reportedly suffered a flat tire and was surrounded by individuals, forcing agents to abandon the vehicle. DHS says the vehicle sustained significant damage.
DHS: Chicago PD didn’t respond
After the incident, DHS officials accused the Chicago Police Department of failing to assist federal agents during the confrontation.
While Chicago police responded to maintain traffic and scene control, CPD said it is not involved in the federal investigation and has deferred all inquiries to DHS and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.
“Unfortunately, JB Pritzker’s Chicago Police Department is leaving the shooting scene and refuses to assist us in securing the area. There is a crowd growing and we are deploying special operations to control a growing crowd,” McLaughlin said in a statement.
An image shared with FOX News appears to show dispatch advising officers not to respond to ICE agents “being surrounded by a large crowd of people.”
The Fraternal Order of Police and Illinois State FOP condemned the department’s alleged inaction.
“Let me be clear, both the National FOP and the Illinois FOP believe that when an officer calls for assistance, you answer, no matter what,” FOP National President Patrick Yoes said. “…Now more than ever, police officers need to band together in order to protect our brothers and sisters who wear the badge.”
The Trust Act, an Illinois state law, generally prohibits local law enforcement agencies from participating in immigration enforcement. Chicago, which identifies as a sanctuary city, has frequently pushed back against ICE operations — a dynamic that has contributed to a broader breakdown in cooperation between local and federal authorities, according to the FOP.
CPD has disputed the claim, stating that officers were on the scene.
“To clarify misinformation currently circulating, CPD officers did in fact respond to the shooting scene involving federal authorities on Saturday to maintain public safety and traffic control,” the department said in a statement provided to WLS.
Federal response
Multiple federal officers were reportedly hospitalized with injuries following the confrontation. The extent of those injuries has not been disclosed.
In response to the violence, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem authorized the deployment of special operations teams to “restore law and order.”
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