A Colombian man was allegedly killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Maine on Monday.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents allegedly shot and killed a 26-year-old Colombian immigrant in Maine. The man was allowed to work in the United States and also had a Social Security number.
“He was a member of our community, a neighbor, and a human being whose life was tragically cut short,” two immigration organizations said in a statement. “We extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones, and everyone is now grieving this unimaginable loss.”Daniel Boucher, who witnessed the aftermath of the shooting, told the Portland Press Herald that he was getting ready for work and after hearing what sounded like fireworks, he witnessed agents extracting the driver of a sedan.
“He was bleeding profusely from his head,” Boucher told the Press Herald. “He was talking. He said, ‘I tried to stop.’ ‘No one should have seen what I saw,'” Boucher said.
Sen. Angus King (R-Maine) told The Associated Press that he spoke with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullen about the shooting. Mullen reportedly told him the victim had “armed” his car.The Maine Attorney General’s Office said that according to preliminary data, an officer with Removal Operations, part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was executing a removal order “when the subject attempted to flee in a vehicle at the officer’s direction and was shot.”
The prosecutor’s office said it was investigating the matter.The Colombian Embassy in Washington, D.C., said it was working to help identify the victim and confirm his nationality.Sen. Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, said the FBI was investigating. “The Bedford shooting requires a full and impartial investigation into what happened,” she said in a statement.Bedford Mayor Liam LaFontaine said in a statement that he was “shaken” when he learned of the shooting. He called for a “full, comprehensive and transparent investigation” with the full participation and cooperation of state law enforcement authorities. “A person has died and their loved ones and members of our community deserve clear answers about what happened,” LaFontaine said.Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican immigrant who had lived in Texas for three decades.
