Little Village, Chicago shooting: 1 arrested after shots fired at Border Patrol during immigration op near 26th, Kedzie, DHS says
A suspect has been arrested in connection to a shooting Saturday targeting Border Patrol agents in Chicago, the Department of Homeland Security said on X Monday.
DHS said the suspect is from Mexico, and is in the U.S. illegally.
Officials said the suspect has previously been convicted for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon/vehicle, felony possession of a weapon and illegal entry.
He is currently marked as a violator of the Laken Riley Act, pending charges related to assaulting officers, DHS said.
The incident happened as federal agents launched several operations Saturday in the Little Village neighborhood as part of "Operation Midway Blitz," leading to very tense moments between agents and community members and business owners. Immigrant activists say they believe six people were detained.
In a statement posted to X, DHS said agents were conducting operations near 26th Street and Kedzie Avenue in the Little Village neighborhood when the shooting happened.
An angry crowd gathered after federal officer allegedly detained a young woman near 26th and Kedzie.
Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino was there. He could be seen in cellphone video with an apparent tear gas canister in his hand.
Residents demanded the detained woman's release while in pursuit of their caravan.
During the incident, DHS said the suspect, who was driving a black Jeep, fired shots at agents and fled the scene. DHS also said "an unknown number of agitators" threw a paint can and bricks at Border Patrol vehicles.
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Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez says cellphone video recorded by a resident shows something different.
"It's very clear. They came out of the vehicles pointing their weapons, and they used tear gas on people," Sigcho-Lopez said.
CPD officials confirmed to ABC7 that Chicago police officers responded to the scene for a report of shots fired, and "there are no reports of anyone struck by gunfire."
Moments later, a Chicago police officer who had been called to the intersection for crowd control was hit by a vehicle, another officer at the scene told ABC7.
CPD officials later also confirmed an officer who was conducting traffic control was accidentally struck by a GMC pick-up truck driven by a 20-year-old female. The CPD officer had minor injuries and was taken to hospital in good condition. The driver was given two citations and detectives are investigating.
The video in the player above is from an earlier report.
