Tipsheet

Federal Agent Involved in Shooting Amid Anti-ICE Tensions

A shooting involving a Homeland Security or Border Patrol officer reportedly took place in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning.

Nobody was harmed during the incident, which comes amid increased tensions between federal immigration enforcement agencies and communities across the country.

From ABC 7:

A shooting involving a federal agent on Wednesday morning in Willowbrook prompted a large response from local and federal authorities.

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said the U.S. Border Patrol or Department of Homeland Security was involved in the shooting near the intersection of 126th Street and Mona Boulevard.

Shortly before 7:30 a.m., the Border Patrol informed the Sheriff's Department that the agency was conducting an operation in the area, according to the LASD. The shooting occurred shortly afterward.

No one was struck by gunfire, the sheriff's spokesperson told ABC7, adding that all suspects targeted by the operation were detained and all officers were accounted for.

The full details of the incident have not yet been publicized.

This incident follows another shooting that occurred in Northridge when a 43-year-old man named Keith Porter was shot and killed by an off-duty ICE agent on New Year’s Eve, according to ABC 7. Authorities said the agent fired after the man pointed a rifle at him. DHS said the officer first heard gunfire near his apartment and went outside where he “encountered Porter holding a long rifle.”

Porter “fired three rounds at the officer before he died,” according to DHS. 

Family members and community activists called the shooting murder and demanded justice. Activists, including Black Lives Matter Los Angeles co-founder Melina Abdullah said, “You don’t just get to murder people, because you don’t like what they’re doing or how they are doing or how they’re celebrating.”

They allege that Porter was firing his gun to celebrate the New Year.

The Willowbrook incident occurred amid escalating tensions between Los Angeles County officials and federal immigration enforcement agencies. Just days before the shooting, the LA County Board of Supervisors unanimously directed county attorneys to draft an ordinance that would create “ICE-free zones.”