An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent fatally shot a motorist in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday. The Department of Homeland Security stated the agent discharged his weapon out of concern for public safety after the vehicle attempted to flee during an attempted stop.
According to Homeland Security, ICE agents were surveilling an address for an individual with a final order of removal. When agents attempted to stop a vehicle departing from the location, the driver reportedly tried to evade the agents, prompting the shooting. The agency has not immediately responded to requests for further clarification.
U.S. Sen. Angus King, an independent representing Maine, told CNN that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin informed him the officer fired after the individual attempted to use their vehicle as a weapon against the agents. Mullin also indicated that the agents involved were not equipped with body cameras. King noted that the investigation will aim to clarify whether the motorist posed a danger to agents or the public.
Mullin also stated that the ICE officers were in Biddeford to serve an arrest warrant, but the warrant was not for the individual who was killed, correcting earlier information that suggested the motorist was the target of the enforcement action.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General is investigating the incident in collaboration with the FBI. The Maine attorney general’s office is also investigating and stated that preliminary information suggests the motorist was attempting to flee in the agent's direction. The agent involved has been placed on administrative leave.
Witnesses provided differing accounts of the incident. Daniel Boucher, who lives in a building overlooking the scene, reported hearing gunshots and then seeing a car turned sideways in the street with an SUV behind it. He described the driver as wounded and the car moving until it was struck by the SUV. Boucher also stated he heard the victim say, "I tried to stop."
Another witness, Mary Hayes, whose home is near the shooting site, described seeing a wife fall to her knees upon seeing her husband's body and a young daughter crying. Sadie Dilboy, who owns a local laundromat, said the man killed was a regular customer who often brought his daughter.
Advocacy groups, including the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and Presente!, identified the deceased man as a 26-year-old native of Colombia who was authorized to work in the U.S. The Colombian Embassy confirmed it is in contact with U.S. authorities and providing consular assistance to the family.
Following the shooting, several hundred demonstrators gathered in Biddeford to protest ICE and call for the agency's abolition. Conversely, a small group of pro-ICE and pro-Trump protesters demonstrated nearby.
This incident marks the second time in a week that an ICE agent has used deadly force, and at least the ninth death associated with federal immigration enforcement actions since President Donald Trump began his immigration crackdown. In a separate incident on July 7, an ICE officer fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, in Houston.
The increased enforcement activities coincide with the Trump administration's push for mass deportations. In late June, ICE reported arresting over 10,000 individuals within a five-day period. Data from the University of California, Berkeley Deportation Data Project indicates that between the start of Trump's second term and March 11, 2026, ICE arrested 546 people in Maine. Approximately 45% of those arrested had criminal backgrounds, a decrease from the period before Trump took office, when about 69% of those arrested had criminal backgrounds.