A federal immigration agent fatally shot a man in northwest suburban Franklin Park, Illinois, on Friday morning after the agency says the man tried to flee a traffic stop and struck the officer with his vehicle.
Officers with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency were conducting “targeted law enforcement activity” in Franklin Park when they pulled over a vehicle, according to a statement from the agency.
“During a vehicle stop, the suspect resisted and attempted to drive his vehicle into the arrest team, striking an officer and subsequently dragging him as he fled the scene,” the statement read. “Fearing for his life, the officer discharged his firearm and struck the subject.”
Both the officer and the suspect were taken to a nearby hospital, where the suspect was pronounced dead, according to the statement. The officer sustained “severe injuries,” but his condition was stabilized, the statement said.
“Viral social media videos and activists encouraging illegal aliens to resist law enforcement not only spread misinformation, but also undermine public safety, the safety of our officers and those being apprehended,” the agency wrote in the statement. Social media reports showed parts of Grand Avenue closed in the suburb.
No further information about the shooting victim was immediately released.
Franklin Park police referred questions about the incident to federal authorities.
The FBI confirmed that agents were at the scene assisting law enforcement in the investigation. “There is no threat to public safety or further information available at this time,” the FBI said in a statement.
The fatal shooting occurred just days after President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security announced it was beginning a surge of immigration law enforcement in Chicago, dubbing it “Operation Midway Blitz” and claiming it would target “criminal illegal aliens” who have taken advantage of the city and state’s sanctuary policies.
The announcement marked the first official word from the Trump administration about increased immigration enforcement after Trump vacillated between vows of “going in” to Chicago with the potential deployment of National Guard troops to fight overall crime, to a stepped-up immigration enforcement role by ICE agents.
The ramped-up immigration enforcement actions also come less than a week after the president posted a meme last Saturday morning depicting military helicopters flying over the city’s lakefront skyline using the title “Chipocalypse Now.”
“I love the smell of deportations in the morning…” Trump posted on his Truth Social account, altering the famous phrase from the 1979 movie “Apocalypse Now,” about the smell of “Napalm.” In the post, Trump was depicted in U.S. Army fatigues and sunglasses and wearing a Stetson U.S. Cavalry hat like the lieutenant colonel portrayed in the movie by actor Robert Duvall.
Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson have for weeks protested Trump’s claims that he would send in the National Guard and also cautioned residents to prepare for potential immigration sweeps. On Friday, Trump announced he was sending Guard troops to Memphis, Tennessee instead.
The actions have stirred emotions throughout the Chicagoland area as protests have occurred nearly daily outside an ICE facility in west suburban Broadview.
On Friday morning, a confrontation between protesters and agents at an ICE facility grew tense and led to pushing and shoving.
Just before noon, roughly a dozen agents in full riot gear with rifles approached about 30 protesters in a line. A few of the protesters began to be dragged away when the remaining group began pushing and shoving agents, who retreated to a nearby parking garage.
“Shame! Shame! Shame!” the protesters shouted.
Agents and a group protesting at the facility had faced off all morning, with agents occasionally appearing at the door of the building as a dispersal order was played over speakers.
About a half hour later, agents used pepper spray against a group of protesters who were blocking a vehicle gate.
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