ICE agents shoot suspect following traffic stop in Central California

By Lauren Mascarenhas, Danya Gainor, Taylor Galgano, CNN

(CNN) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents shot a man, who was then taken to a hospital, after they conducted a targeted traffic stop in California’s Central Valley, the agency said Tuesday.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said in a statement the ICE officers fired defensive shots after the person they stopped attempted to run an agent over.

The shooting happened near Interstate 5 in Patterson, about 90 miles south of Sacramento.

The Department of Homeland Security statement identified the target of the vehicle stop as Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, an undocumented immigrant and “18th Street Gang member wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection to a murder.”

“As officers approached the car, the wanted gang member weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run an officer over. Following their training, our officers fired defensive shots to protect themselves, their fellow agents, and the public,” the statement continued.

CNN is working to determine whether Mendoza Hernandez has an attorney.

Two dashcam videos obtained by CNN captured the incident, as a car is seen crossing over the highway lane divider after being surrounded by agents, while one agent runs out of the way of the car. It’s not clear exactly when agents fired at the vehicle because the footage does not have sound.

DHS says its agents have been the target of increasing violence, citing more than 180 vehicle attacks since Trump’s second term started. But the administration’s initial accounts of shootings involving federal agents have, in some cases, changed over time – or been proven wrong altogether.

“As is established practice, we expect our federal law enforcement partners to appropriately collaborate with state and local law enforcement as this matter is investigated,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said on X.

The FBI is conducting an investigation, Acting Special Agent in Charge Eugene Wu said. The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office told CNN it’s assisting, and it confirmed no local law enforcement was involved with the incident.

“If you have any videos or information that will help our investigation, we welcome your information,” Wu said in a plea to the public at a brief news conference Tuesday afternoon.

Dashcam footage captures incident

At least three law enforcement agents are seen surrounding a black vehicle on a road near Interstate 5, video obtained by CNN shows. The black vehicle then backs up and its passenger-side door hits another car on the road.

Agents then point their guns at the vehicle as it stops for about two seconds. The car then turns left and crosses over the highway lane divider, while an agent runs out of the way of the car.

It’s not clear when exactly agents fired at the vehicle.

Christina Valencia, whose Tesla captured one of the videos obtained by CNN, said she noticed the flashing lights from her car.

“All of a sudden I heard like a shot fired… and then maybe like 10 seconds later, I heard about five or six more go off,” she said. She believes that an agent first fired after the car reversed, but before it started to drive over the lane divider.

Video credit: Christina Valencia

After the car started to drive towards the lane divider, she said she heard about five or six more shots.

CNN cannot independently confirm Valencia’s account of the gunfire.

From there, the two agents ran to their trucks and then headed in the direction of the suspect, she said. They ultimately ended up under a nearby overpass.

When the shots started, she said she put her car in reverse.

“I was scared because I was like there’s nowhere for me to go,” Valencia said.

Car-involved incidents are a mark of the federal immigration crackdown

While agents have been subjected to violence since the start of Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration last year, DHS has also at times faced a crisis of credibility regarding claims it has made in the aftermath of some high-profile incidents. In arrests and use-of-force encounters across the country, versions provided by DHS of some events have been contradicted by eyewitness accounts and bystander video and challenged by independent judges.

Altercations in or around vehicles have been a steady symbol of the administration’s immigration crackdown, including car crashes between federal agents and people who try to flee, traffic stops turned violent and alleged rammings involving pro-immigrant activists.

The phrase “weaponized his/her vehicle” has been repeated by officials including former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem when she described Renee Good, a Minneapolis mother shot and killed by an ICE agent this year. Good’s death prompted widespread protests and her burgundy SUV has become a recognizable symbol of the chaotic immigration operations in Minneapolis.

18th Street Gang is a designated terrorist group

DHS said Mendoza Hernandez, the man agents were targeting Tuesday, is a member of the 18th Street Gang. The Department of Justice has said the group is a “well-known and established international criminal organization and violent street gang” with members and associates across the United States. It began as a Mexican-American street gang and now has more than 100,000 members in the United States, the Drug Enforcement Agency says.

The State Department last year designated the gang, also known as Barrio 18, a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

Earlier Tuesday in Brooklyn, New York, a high-ranking member of the gang was sentenced to more than 35 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy in connection with the 2017 murder of a man in upstate New York, the DOJ said. Two other gang members were previously sentenced as part of the same conspiracy.

Twelve members and associates of the 18th Street Gang were arrested last month in Los Angeles on charges including murder in the death of a drug trafficker, the DEA said.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Melissa Gray and Jada Furlow contributed to this report.