A woman was shot by ICE agents in Chicago after ramming them with her car, officials said.
The shooting took place on Saturday morning on Chicago’s south side when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents allegedly fired “defensive shots” after being “rammed by 10 cars”, Patricia McLaughlin, a Homeland Security spokeswoman, said.
The officers allegedly opened fire after discovering that the woman, who was behind the wheel of one of the cars, “was armed with a semi-automatic weapon”, she said.
Ms McLaughlin said the woman, who was not named, “drove herself to the hospital” to receive treatment for her injuries and that no officers were seriously harmed.
Ms McLaughlin said: “This morning, during routine patrolling in Broadview, in the same area of Chicago that law enforcement were assaulted yesterday, our brave law enforcement officers were rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars.
“Agents were unable to move their vehicles and exited the car. One of the drivers who rammed the law enforcement vehicle was armed with a semi-automatic weapon. Law enforcement was forced to deploy their weapons and fire defensive shots at an armed US citizen who drove herself to the hospital to get care for wounds.”
A man washes tear gas out of a demonstrator’s eye following a standoff with ICE – Jim Vondruska/Reuters
The woman was said to have been flagged in a recent US customs and border protection bulletin for publicly identifying ICE agents and threatening them on social media.
She allegedly wrote: “Hey, to all my gang let’s f— those mother f—— up, don’t let them take anyone.”
Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security secretary, said reinforcements were being deployed to “control the scene”.
“Today in Chicago, members of our brave law enforcement were attacked – rammed and boxed in by ten vehicles, including an attacker with a semi-automatic weapon,” she wrote on X.
“I am deploying more special operations to control the scene. Reinforcements are on their way.”
Following the incident, footage posted online shows protesters gathering on a road outside a police cordon that was being marshalled by armed officers in camouflage gear.
Ms McLaughlin said that special operations had been deployed to control a “growing crowd”.
Since Donald Trump returned to office, raids by masked ICE agents across the country have sparked dismay among Democrats and members of migrant communities.
Tensions came to a head last month when a gunman opened fire at an ICE facility in Dallas, Texas, killing two migrants and wounding one other.
The shooting comes weeks after ICE agents shot dead a Mexican migrant in Chicago after he allegedly struck an officer with his car while trying to flee a traffic stop.
Silverio Villegas Gonzalez was killed on Sept 12 after he allegedly resisted arrest and attempted to drive his car into offi
cers, dragging one officer along the floor, ICE officials said.
Protesters in Chicago had a standoff with ICE agents on Saturday – Jim Vondruska/Reuters
The latest shooting will probably fuel an ongoing feud between Donald Trump and JB Pritzker, the Illinois governor, after the president repeatedly threatened to send the national guard into his state to crack down on crime.
Ms McLaughlin criticised Mr Pritzker, claiming the city’s police department was “leaving the shooting scene and refuses to assist us in securing the area”.
Mr Pritzker announced on Saturday that the president will soon federalise 300 national guard troops in the state, bringing them under his command.
“This morning, the Trump Administration’s department of war gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will,” Mr Pritzker said in a statement.
“It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.”
The City of Chicago and emergency services were approached for comment.
