ICE shot and killed a Colombian man in Maine. This is the 2nd time in a week the agency used deadly force

By — Patrick Whittle, Associated Press Patrick Whittle, Associated Press By — Leah Willingham, Associated Press Leah Willingham, Associated Press By — Jack Brook, Associated Press Jack Brook, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/ice-shot-and-killed-a-colombian-man-in-maine-this-is-the-2nd-time-in-a-week-the-agency-used-deadly-force Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter ICE shot and killed a Colombian man in Maine. This is the 2nd time in a week the agency used deadly force Nation Jul 13, 2026 3:52 PM EDT BIDDEFORD, Maine (AP) — A federal immigration officer fatally shot a Colombian man in Maine on Monday, marking the second time in a week that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have used deadly force. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the officer opened fire after the man tried to use his vehicle as a weapon against officers who were pursuing him for deportation in Biddeford, a coastal city of about 23,000 people roughly 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of Portland. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. "He was in a vehicle — pulled out in the vehicle, and the term the secretary used was 'weaponized' the vehicle and was shot by an ICE agent," King said. The Maine attorney general's office, which is investigating the shooting along with the FBI and other agencies, said initial statements suggest the motorist was trying to flee in the direction of the agent. The motorist was the target of an enforcement operation related to a final order of removal, the office said, and the agent who killed him has been placed on leave, which is standard policy in officer-involved shootings. Messages seeking comment were left for ICE and the Maine Department of Public Safety. The man was 26 and from Colombia, advocates say The advocacy groups Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition and Presente! identified the man who was killed as a 26-year-old native of Colombia. They said he was authorized to work in the U.S. and had a Social Security number. Mary Hayes, who lives close to where the shooting happened, said the man lived nearby with his wife and daughter. "I watched a wife fall to her knees looking at her husband's dead body on the ground," Hayes told The Associated Press as she held a piece of cardboard with "No ICE Stop ICE" written on it. "I watched a little girl crying with a little pink backpack on because she's never going to see her father again." Cory Poulin, whose family runs a laundromat near the scene, told the AP that security cameras at the business captured footage of the man's car rolling into the intersection after shots were fired. Other images from the scene showed the car going in circles and bullet holes in its windshield. "Two ICE members ran to the intersection and another ICE member in a Ford SUV went into th