Person killed in ICE-involved shooting in Maine

One person was killed in a shooting involving United States immigration agents in Maine, the state's top lawmaker said.

"This morning a shooting occurred in Biddeford. A person was killed. ICE was involved," House Speaker Ryan Fecteau wrote on Facebook.

Biddeford police declined to comment and referred inquiries to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The FBI said it responded immediately to assist at the scene of the shooting but did not offer any additional information.

What we know about the shooting

Senator Angus King from Maine said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the agent opened fire in Biddeford after the man tried to use his vehicle as a weapon against agents who were pursuing him for deportation.

The agents involved in the shooting did not have body-worn cameras, King said.

An eyewitness to Monday's shooting, Lucas Scott, told local media he heard four gunshots after several ICE agents surrounded a white car.

The man shot was a 26-year-old from Colombia according to advocacy groups Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and Presente! They said he was authorized to work in the US and had a Social Security number.

Project Relief, an immigrant rights group, said in a social media post that one of its community members was killed during an encounter with ICE in Biddeford and that it was in contact with the person's family.

"This was a young person whose life was cut short," the group said, calling for justice and support for the family and community.

Maine Governor Janet Mills said she had been briefed on the fatal shooting "involving Federal law enforcement" and that state authorities were working with federal authorities to determine what happened.

An uptick in Trump's immigration crackdown

The reported shooting came days after ICE agents shot a man during a vehicle stop in Texas. Officials later said the man was not the intended target.

If an ICE officer delivered the fatal shot, it would mark at least the ninth death, including the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota, linked to an encounter with federal immigration officials since President Donald Trump launched an immigration crackdown.

It also comes amid a newly intensified anti-immigration push by the Trump administration.

Since the beginning of June, ICE arrests in Maine have more than quadrupled to around 70 per day in early July, according to

internal ICE data shared with Reuters news agency by a source.

Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez

Don't let the algorithm hide the news. If you rely on our team for trusted reporting, please take a moment to select us as your Preferred Source on Google , so you'll always see our verified news first.