A man died Tuesday in Florida after an encounter with U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents, marking the third fatality in less than a week following incidents where individuals fled from federal immigration officers. The circumstances of the Florida encounter are under review.
This death follows two other fatal shootings involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in early July. On July 7, an ICE officer shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national who had resided in the U.S. for decades, during a traffic stop in Houston. Six days later, another ICE officer fatally shot Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian national, as he drove near his home in Biddeford, Maine.
DHS has stated that both Araujo and Durán Guerrero attempted to flee from agents and that Araujo’s vehicle lunged toward an officer. However, passengers in Araujo’s vehicle have disputed the department’s account, according to their attorney.
These incidents have drawn significant public scrutiny and criticism in the wake of the deaths.