ONTARIO, Calif. – A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot a California man early Thursday morning around 6:30 a.m., according to a Mercury News article. The shooting occurred after the driver allegedly reversed his car toward ICE officers, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The incident has left civilians and the victim’s family concerned about federal law enforcement’s use of force, particularly since the driver’s side of the story has yet to be fully discussed.
ICE officers had originally pulled over a different car on the 2800 block of South Vineyard Avenue for an unrelated reason when a second driver, later identified as Carlos Jimenez, drove past the area of the first stop. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said ICE officers instructed Jimenez to leave the area.
Instead of leaving, McLaughlin said Jimenez “put his vehicle in reverse in the direction of officers, prompting the officer to fire at the vehicle.” She also said Jimenez “attempted to run officers over by reversing directly at them without stopping,” as reported by the Southern California News Group.
McLaughlin said the ICE officer, “fearing for his life, fired defensive shots at the vehicle,” striking Jimenez in the shoulder, according to law enforcement officials.
After the shots were fired, DHS reported that Jimenez allegedly fled the scene. However, Jimenez’s account to the Southern California News Group told a different story. According to his brother, Jimenez actually drove himself home after the gunfire. The publication noted that this discrepancy between the official report and the family’s account was not immediately addressed. Later, Jimenez’s brother photographed the car parked in front of the family’s residence as further evidence of his version of events.
The brother said Jimenez came home frantically, bleeding from the gunshot wound, but did not have the chance to explain what happened.
“He came in running, screaming that he got shot,” the brother said.
The article also noted that neither brother believed the DHS version of events sounded like something Jimenez would do.
Jimenez was booked into a detention center Thursday and is being held without bail.
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Like with Gaza, your politics will create the reality of this story that you want to hear. There is no shared reality anymore.
Exactly. Take everything with a grain of salt these days.