An employee at the Aurora ICE Processing Center in Colorado was arrested Thursday night and accused of shooting a female protester. The incident occurred as demonstrators blocked the entrance to the facility.
Brandon Booth, 42, an employee of the GEO Group which operates the center, was reportedly waiting in his car with other workers when two protesters engaged in a verbal confrontation and took photos of their vehicles. Police stated that Booth then allegedly fired a single shot from his personally owned pistol towards the protesters, striking one in the lower body before driving away. He was apprehended two blocks from the scene.
Booth faces charges of assault and attempted second-degree murder. The injured protester was taken to a local hospital for treatment. The Aurora Police Department is investigating the shooting, with Aurora Chief of Police Todd Chamberlain emphasizing a commitment to transparency and stating that violence will not be tolerated.
The Aurora ICE Processing Center is the only operational ICE detention facility in Colorado and is a privately run, 1,500-bed center managed by the GEO Group. A spokesperson for the GEO Group confirmed awareness of the incident involving an off-duty employee and stated the individual has been placed on unpaid administrative leave. The company pledged full cooperation with law enforcement.
Various groups have protested outside the Colorado ICE facility throughout the year.