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Biddeford ICE shooting
A 26-year-old Colombian man was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer during an ICE operation in Biddeford, Maine, after federal officials said the vehicle attempted to flee and the officer fired “fearing for public safety.”
“Man killed in ICE-involved shooting in Maine was not intended target of operation: Official The incident took place in Biddeford, Maine”
The Department of Homeland Security said agents were surveilling an address linked to someone with a final order of removal, and that when ICE tried to stop the vehicle “the vehicle attempted to flee the scene.”
Sen. Angus King said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the officer opened fire after the man tried to use his vehicle as a weapon against ICE agents, while other accounts described the man as not the intended target of the warrant.
Protesters gathered in Maine after the shooting, and the Colombian Embassy said it was providing consular assistance to the family while requesting information and clarification from DHS about the circumstances.
Conflicting narratives
Conflicting accounts emerged quickly as King said Mullin told him the man was not the target of the warrant, while King had previously been told the man was the target, according to ABC News and CBS News.
ABC News quoted King saying, “He was in a vehicle -- pulled out in the vehicle, and the term the secretary used was 'weaponized' the vehicle,” while CBS News reported DHS said the officer fired out of concern for “public safety.”
Witness Daniel Boucher told ABC News he heard the victim say, “I tried to stop,” and he said he clearly heard the victim say that as agents pulled him from the car.
On the protest side, WBUR reported Anne Marie Cabral of Kennebunkport saying, “Why aren't there bodycams? Why is this happening? It's like the Nazis,” as hundreds rallied in Biddeford and Portland after the killing.
Investigation and fallout
The Department of Homeland Security said the officer fired during a traffic stop, and multiple outlets reported that the officer was placed on leave while investigations proceed involving the FBI and DHS Office of Inspector General.
“The fatal shooting of a 26-year-old Colombian man by a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Maine has become the latest flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s aggressive crackdown on foreign nationals”
AP News said the Maine attorney general’s office reported the agent who killed him has been placed on leave and that initial statements suggest the motorist was trying to flee in the direction of the agent, while Al Jazeera described DHS as saying the officer discharged his weapon “fearing for public safety.”
In response to the shooting, the Department of Homeland Security agreed to “cease all non-urgent vehicle stops,” Susan Collins said in a social media post, and WBUR reported rallies demanding accountability and questioning why body cameras were not on the agents.
The stakes for the community were underscored by the Colombian Embassy’s statement that it “deeply regrets the death of a Colombian national in Biddeford, Maine” and is requesting “information and clarification from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).”
