ICE-Involved Shooting In Maine Kills One Person, Officials Say
Federal agents reportedly shot and killed one person in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday, officials in the state confirmed—marking the latest shooting linked to Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a man was shot by an agent in Houston last week.
In a statement on Facebook on Monday morning, Maine House Speaker Ryan Doughty Fecteau confirmed one person was killed in a shooting in Biddeford, adding that “ICE was involved.”
Hours later, Maine Gov. Janet Mills confirmed state police were investigating a deadly shooting involving “federal law enforcement,” while Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, confirmed at a press conference the victim was shot by “an ICE agent.”
The victim was a man in his early 20s who was ordered to leave the country, King said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him, and that the man “weaponized” his vehicle.
Witnesses told the Portland Press Herald they saw agents pull a man from a car, with one person telling the newspaper they heard the victim say “I tried to stop” before they stopped moving and presumably died.
In a separate statement released on social media, the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition reported the victim was a 26-year-old Colombian man who was authorized to work in the U.S. and issued a social security number.
Biddeford Police confirmed to local media that ICE was involved in the shooting, but said it would not be releasing any further updates on the incident, as its only role was to secure the area.
The U.S. Attorney’s office told the Portland Press Herald the FBI was on the scene, and Fecteau said on Facebook that “State Police and the Department of Public Safety are now on scene to gather details,” adding he expects “the FBI to investigate as well.”
Anti-ICE protesters are already mobilizing in the immediate wake of the shooting, the Press Herald reports, with local group Biddeford Saco for Racial Justice announcing a noon protest Monday against the shooting and ICE.
The shooting comes after Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot by an ICE agent Tuesday during a traffic stop, though witnesses and ICE dispute the circumstances of the incident.
Local authorities are expected to hold a press conference Monday on the incident, though no official timing has yet been announced.
Maine has been one of the targets of the Trump administration’s controversial push to send federal immigration agents to states and cities, often sparking widespread protests and legal action. The Trump administration launched “Operation Catch of the Day” in Maine in January, alleging agents would target “the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens who have terrorized communities,” but later appeared to end the widescale operation only days later. The alleged death in Biddeford and Araujo’s death in Texas come after ICE agents shot two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in Minnesota in January, during the federal government’s push into the Twin Cities. Those deaths sparked national outrage and widespread protests, part of a broader opposition to the Trump administration’s hardline immigration agenda and widespread deportation efforts.