A US immigration officer shot and killed a person in Maine on Monday morning, the second fatal shooting involving federal agents in less than a week.
The incident occurred in Biddeford, a small city about 29km southwest of Portland. The office of Maine attorney general Aaron Frey, a former Democratic state representative, said it was investigating the shooting with assistance from state, local and federal authorities.
Initial information indicates an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) deportation officer was carrying out an operation involving a person under a final order of removal when the individual tried to “flee in a vehicle in the direction of the officer and was fatally shot”, said the attorney general’s (AG) office.
The officer has been placed on leave, as is standard protocol, and the AG’s office called for any protests to remain peaceful.
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“Our community is shaken by this incident. We are heartbroken that someone lost their life,” said Maine house speaker Ryan Fecteau, whose district includes the city. “We deserve answers about why lethal force was used and why an operation was being carried out in our streets.”
A US department of homeland security official said the officer fired after the person tried to run them over, but the agency did not immediately release additional details or evidence supporting that account.
Authorities have not publicly identified the person who was killed. The attorney general’s office said it will release the person’s name after positive identification is confirmed and family members are notified.
The Maine immigrants’ rights coalition and Presente! Maine, another immigration advocacy group, identified the person as a 26-year-old Colombian man and said federal immigration officers had been carrying out additional enforcement activity in the area.
Residents in the area told the Portland Press Herald that they heard gunshots and saw officers trying to stop a car driven by the man who had been shot. One said the driver got out of the vehicle bleeding from the head, the newspaper reported.
A growing group of protesters was gathered at Mechanics Park, near the scene of the incident. A crowd was also outside Republican senator Susan Collins’ local office, chanting “vote her out!” Collins is seeking her sixth term in November’s midterm elections.
She had taken credit for bringing an end to an enforcement surge in Maine in January that Ice had called Operation Catch of the Day. Still, Maine Democrats have sought to link her to US president Donald Trump, who lost the state in the 2024 election and have highlighted her votes in support of his agenda.
Before this latest incident, at least eight people had died in encounters with federal immigration agents since the administration’s crackdown began, according to the Associated Press.
Last week, federal immigration agents killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican construction worker, during a traffic stop in Houston, Texas, prompting protests. Federal officials have said Salgado Araujo attempted to use his car as a weapon against the agents, but witnesses disputed that account. – Bloomberg
