Federal officers attempting to arrest an undocumented immigrant in downtown Los Angeles fired shots that injured the immigrant and a U.S. marshal Tuesday morning, authorities said.
The shooting happened during what the Department of Homeland Security described as a “targeted traffic enforcement stop,” using “a standard law enforcement procedure.” Court documents say it occurred at around 9 a.m.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles later said the agents tried to box in a vehicle driven by the suspect, Carlitos Ricardo Parias, 44, of South Los Angeles, with their vehicles before the shooting.
Parias, who is charged with assault on a federal officer, then drove the Toyota Camry "both forward and back, hitting two of the law enforcement vehicles," the U.S Attorney's Office said.
Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, said the federal officers feared for their safety and fired “defensive shots," and that the immigrant was struck in the elbow. One of the bullets fired by federal officers ricocheted and hit a law enforcement officer in the hand, she said.
The U.S. Marshals' office in California's central district said in a statement that the officer who was injured is a deputy with that agency.
The Department of Homeland Security said both the immigrant and the officer were taken to the hospital. The officer’s condition was listed as stable, according to the statement.
The FBI's Los Angeles field office said it was investigating the shooting. An evidence response team was processing the scene on East 20th Street, near the city's Fashion District, the bureau said in a statement.
No FBI agents were involved in the shooting, according to the statement.
The events unfolded amid heightened tension between federal authorities and local officials and residents in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, where President Donald Trump has particularly ramped up immigration enforcement efforts.
In Chicago last week, a federal judge required immigration officers to wear body cameras and badges after seeing what she described as the aggressive techniques used by some agents. In Los Angeles, county officials voted to declare a state of emergency to help provide assistance for residents who say they have suffered during the immigration raids.
"We have residents afraid to leave their homes, we have constituents contacting my office because their family members never came home and they don’t know if they’ve been taken by ICE or where they’ve been taken,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said, according to The Associated Press.
McLaughlin attributed Tuesday's incident to the conduct and rhetoric of politicians who she said urge undocumented people to resist arrest.
Parias is expected to make a first appearance in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
The prosecutor's office said he is a Mexican national living in the U.S. without authorization. He was charged via criminal complaint, it said, meaning it has not gone before a grand jury.
Online federal court records did not appear to show the case against Parias on Tuesday evening, and it was not clear if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
