3 days ago
Federal immigration agents shoot San Bernardino man's car, authorities say
A San Bernardino family says that federal immigration agents fired multiple shots at their car on Saturday morning before waiting outside of their home for hours.
A spokesperson for the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice says that the incident happened at around 8:40 a.m., when one of the family members was stopped by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Sometime during their interaction, the civilian's car was struck by gunfire three times, they said.
"The individual proceeded to return home, as it was clear the agents did not have a warrant," said a statement from IC4IJ.
At the same time, San Bernardino Police Department officers were dispatched to the intersection of Acacia Avenue and Baseline Street after learning of shots fired in the area.
"Upon arrival, officers encountered federal agents who advised they were involved in an officer-involved shooting and that the involved suspect had fled the scene in a vehicle," SBPD officers said in a news release.
A short time later, police said the suspect called 911 to report that masked men tried to pull him over, broke his car window and shot at him. He told them that he did not know who they were and asked for assistance. Police went to the man's home and found the damaged car.
"At that time, it was unclear what the suspect was wanted for. Under the California Values Act, California law enforcement agencies are prohibited from assisting federal officials with immigration enforcement, so our officers left the scene as the investigation was being conducted by federal authorities," police said.
Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice says that the federal agents arrived at the home at around 11 a.m., where they remained outside for several hours to "pressure the individual to open the door and come outside." They allegedly did not provide a warrant and did not make attempts to communicate with the suspect or his family.
At around 1:15 p.m., SBPD officers were called back to the home upon receiving a request for assistance from agents who said a large crowd had formed outside of the home as they "attempted to arrest the subject for assaulting a federal officer."
Police provided crowd control at the home, stating that local law enforcement can help federal officials if officer or public safety is at risk.
"In this case, federal agents requested assistance during a lawful arrest for assaulting a federal officer when a crowd created a potential officer safety concern," police said. "This was not an immigration-related arrest, which would be prohibited under California law."
Agents left the home a little before 4 p.m., said IC4IJ's statement. They also say that the person who was first stopped by ICE agents has no criminal record.
No further information was provided.
CBS News Los Angeles has reached out to ICE for further information on the incident but has not yet heard back.
