Federal agents shot into a van during an immigration operation in Maryland on Christmas Eve in an incident that left two men hospitalized, federal authorities said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers approached a van in a quiet neighborhood in Glen Burnie, south of Baltimore, on Wednesday morning and instructed the driver to turn off the engine, according to Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. The department described the driver, who is from Portugal, and his passenger, who is from El Salvador, as being in the U.S. illegally; the driver had overstayed a visa that expired in 2009, the department said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to McLaughlin, the driver refused to turn off the engine and \u201cdrove his van directly at ICE officers,\u201d hitting ICE vehicles as he tried to flee. McLaughlin said the agents fired their service weapons at the driver in self-defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The driver of the van was shot and crashed between two buildings, McLaughlin said. The passenger suffered whiplash in the crash. Both men were taken to a local hospital, where they are in stable condition, McLaughlin said. She said the ICE agents were \u201cnot severely injured.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McLaughlin said the incident is under investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The incident comes after months of tension between federal agents, local authorities and community members as the Trump administration ramps up its immigration enforcement operations. In September, a man opened fire on an ICE facility in Dallas, killing two detainees and injuring another in what officials described as an anti-ICE attack. In October, federal officers in Los Angeles shot an immigrant and a U.S. marshal during what DHS said was a \u201ctraffic enforcement stop.\u201d Last month, two National Guard members who were deployed to Washington, D.C., as part of what the Trump administration described as a crime crackdown were shot in a \u201ctargeted\u201d attack, officials said; one was killed and the other hospitalized in critical condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Anne Arundel County Police Department will investigate Wednesday\u2019s shooting, while the FBI will investigate the alleged attempt to harm ICE officers, said Justin Mulcahy, an Anne Arundel County Police Department spokesman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said in a post on X that he was aware of the \u201cICE-involved shooting\u201d in Glen Burnie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs information surrounding the incident continues to emerge, we will remain in touch with local officials and are standing by to provide support for the community,\u201d Moore said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Allison Pickard, a council member in Anne Arundel County, called for authorities to release more information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur community deserves answers \u2014 and a clear, accountable process for investigation and disclosing the findings as well as an assurance that tactics will focus more on deescalation,\u201d she said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman criticized the Trump administration’s immigration operations in a statement to WTTG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have federal law enforcement operating in our jurisdictions without the traditional notification of local police and often without identification,\u201d Pittman said. \u201cIt is a recipe for violence, and that is what we experienced in our county today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n