Federal agents shot into a van during an immigration operation in Maryland on Christmas Eve in an incident that left two men hospitalized, federal authorities said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers approached a van in a quiet neighborhood in Glen Burnie, south of Baltimore, on Wednesday morning and instructed the driver to turn off the engine, according to Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. The department described the driver, who is from Portugal, and his passenger, who is from El Salvador, as being in the U.S. illegally but did not provide further details.
According to McLaughlin, the driver refused to turn off the engine and "drove his van directly at ICE officers," hitting ICE vehicles as he tried to flee. McLaughlin said the agents fired their service weapons at the driver in self-defense.
The driver of the van was shot and crashed between two buildings, McLaughlin said. The passenger was injured in the crash. Both men were taken to a local hospital, where they are in stable condition, McLaughlin said. She said the ICE agents were "not severely injured."
McLaughlin said the incident is under investigation.
The incident comes after months of tension between federal agents, local authorities and community members as the Trump administration ramps up its immigration enforcement operations. In September, a man opened fire on anICE facility in Dallas, killingtwo detaineesand injuring another in whatofficials described asan anti-ICE attack. In October,federal officers in Los Angelesshot an immigrant and a U.S. marshal during what DHS said was a "traffic enforcement stop." Last month, two National Guard members who were deployed to Washington, D.C., as part of what the Trump administration described as a crime crackdownwere shot in a "targeted" attack, officials said; one was killed and the other hospitalized in critical condition.
The Anne Arundel County Police Department will investigate Wednesday's shooting, while the FBI will investigate the alleged attempt to harm ICE officers, said Justin Mulcahy, an Anne Arundel County Police Department spokesman.
Maryland Gov. Wes Mooresaid in a post on Xthat he was aware of the "ICE-involved shooting" in Glen Burnie.
"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," Moore said.
Allison Pickard, a council member in Anne Arundel County, called for authorities to release more information.
"Our community deserves answers — and a clear, accountable process for investigation and disclosing the findings as well as an assurance that tactics will focus more on deescalation," she said in a statement.
Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman criticized the Trump administration's immigration operationsin a statement to WTTG.
"We have federal law enforcement operating in our jurisdictions without the traditional notification of local police and often without identification," Pittman said. "It is a recipe for violence, and that is what we experienced in our county today."
