ICE agents shoot man in California who tried to ram them with vehicle

ICE officers in California shot and wounded a man on Tuesday after he allegedly tried to ram one of them with his vehicle, according to the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The man was transported to a hospital, and the FBI responded to the scene, ICE Director Todd Lyons said in a statement.

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

ICE said the suspected gang member, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, had been wanted for questioning in connection with a homicide.

Reuters could not independently verify the ICE statement regarding the incident in Patterson, a farm town of 25,000 people in the San Joaquin Valley, about 90 miles (145 km) southeast of San Francisco.

The Department of Homeland Security said in January that ICE officers experienced 66 vehicular attacks against them in the first year of President Donald Trump's second term, up from two such incidents in the previous year.