A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a person in Franklin Park, Illinois Friday morning after authorities say he tried to drive into brokers.
A Division of Homeland Safety official first advised CBS Information the agent was making an attempt to make an arrest, which the person resisted and tried to drive his car into brokers. The agent then opened fireplace.
ICE officers confirmed the deadly taking pictures, saying the incident started with “focused regulation enforcement exercise.”
“Throughout a car cease, the suspect resisted and tried to drive his car into the arrest staff, placing an officer and subsequently dragging him as he fled the scene. Fearing for his life, the officer discharged his firearm and struck the topic,” the assertion mentioned.
The incident ended when the undocumented driver crashed right into a truck. The driving force of the truck posted video on social media, the place you possibly can see a wrecked Subaru wedged underneath its trailer. You may also see two officers on the bottom subsequent to the undocumented driver.
ICE mentioned each the agent and the suspect have been taken to a neighborhood hospital for remedy, the place the person died. ICE mentioned the agent was dragged and suffered “extreme accidents.” The agent is being handled at a neighborhood hospital the place his situation has stabilized, ICE mentioned.
DHS officers recognized the person shot and killed as Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, who they mentioned had a prison historical past of reckless driving. They mentioned he entered the nation at an unknown date and time.
The agent was dragged by the automotive and suffered “a number of accidents” in accordance with DHS.
In surveillance video from a nail salon, ICE officers could be seen pulling up in a Jeep, with lights flashing, proper in entrance of the Subaru pushed by Villegas-Gonzalez. Brokers stroll over to the automotive. One goes to the passenger aspect window, the opposite to the motive force’s aspect window.
The officer on the passenger aspect, which is nearer to the nail salon’s cameras, seems to attempt to open the door. Then Villegas-Gonzalez begins backing up and drives away. You may nonetheless see the officer on the passenger’s aspect window within the video; what you possibly can’t see is the agent who was on the driver’s aspect window. That’s the agent DHS mentioned was dragged.
Surveillance video from one other close by enterprise exhibits the truck driving west down Grand Avenue then Villegas-Gonzalez, within the Subaru, change from the best to left lane. A short while later, two loud noises that sound like gunshots could be heard.
Jose Pedro De Blas, who works at a close-by auto physique store, captured video of the scene proper after the taking pictures and crash.
“I believed this was only a common run-of-the-mill automotive crash,” he mentioned. “I am going out and I see a big police presence. A big navy presence. I even noticed a man with a big FBI jacket and also you solely see these on the motion pictures.”
“I feel it is unlucky proper now that individuals from everywhere in the world are operating away from ICE, scared from ICE,” he added. “I completely get their level, why they’re operating away.”
The FBI confirmed it has been knowledgeable of the state of affairs and helps with the investigation.
“The FBI is conscious of the incident in Franklin Park and is helping regulation enforcement in response,” a spokesperson for the Chicago subject workplace mentioned. “There is no such thing as a menace to public security or additional data out there at the moment.”
Gov. JB Pritzker posted to his X account, writing, “I’m conscious of the troubling incident that has unfolded in Franklin Park. This can be a growing state of affairs and the folks of Illinois deserve a full, factual accounting of what is occurred in the present day to make sure transparency and accountability.”
The village of Franklin Park is about 15 miles northwest of Chicago, close to O’Hare Worldwide Airport.
Federal brokers have been ramping up immigration enforcement exercise all week as a part of what the Trump administration is asking “Operation Halfway Blitz.”
contributed to this report.
