CHICAGO (WGN) — Federal authorities opened fire on a woman who was allegedly armed with a gun shortly after their vehicle was rammed and blocked in by a group of cars in Chicago on Saturday afternoon.
According to officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the incident unfolded in an area near West 39th Place and South Kedzie Avenue in Brighton Park.
DHS officials say border patrol agents were conducting a routine patrol in the area when they were allegedly “attacked and rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars.”
Agents exited the trapped vehicle, and officials said that was when a female suspect allegedly attempted to run them over, forcing the agents to open fire.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the woman who allegedly attempted to run the agents over was also allegedly armed with a “semi-automatic weapon.”
“One of the drivers who rammed the law enforcement vehicle was armed with a semi-automatic weapon. Law enforcement was forced to deploy their weapons and fired defensive shots at an armed US citizen who drove herself to the hospital to get care for wounds,” McLaughlin said. “Comparing ICE day in and day out to the Nazi Gestapo, the Secret Police, and slave patrols has consequences. The men and women of ICE and CBP are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They get up every morning to try and make our communities safer. Like everyone else, they just want to go home to their families at night. The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop. We are praying for our law enforcement and their families. This is an evolving situation, and we will give the public more information as soon as it becomes available.”
No agents were wounded during the incident.
McLaughlin added that the woman allegedly involved in the incident had been named in a CBP intelligence bulletin last week for allegedly doxing agents online.
Sources confirmed to Nexstar’s WGN that the woman involved suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was hospitalized in critical condition.
Officials from the Chicago Police Department said officers initially responded to the incident when it came in as a call about a person shot, but were not involved in the incident or its investigation.
According to CPD, officers responded to the scene to document the incident and maintain safety, as well as conduct traffic control for those living and working in the area.
The incident comes after weeks of clashes between protesters and federal authorities as they conduct an immigration enforcement operation dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz,” which focuses on Chicago and Illinois.
The operation has been met with intense scrutiny from state and local leaders as well as community members, including those who make up “rapid response teams,” who have been making their presence known on the streets of Chicagoland.
Despite the pushback, more than 900 arrests have been made in the weeks since the operation began.
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