Federal officers shot illegal immigrant they say tried to run them over

Federal prosecutors announced charges Tuesday against an illegal immigrant they say tried to drive over officers, who then shot the man.

Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, a citizen of El Salvador, was being targeted for an immigration arrest in Patterson, California, on April 7 by a joint team of ICE and CBP personnel.

They stopped the migrant on an interstate on-ramp and, when they tried to arrest him, he wouldn’t comply. An agent broke the window of his Toyota sedan to get him out, and he then lurched forward, bumping one agent.

He then backed up, bumping an agent’s F-150 pickup, then lurched forward, forcing an agent to leap out of the way, federal authorities said.

During the incident, two agents were pumping gunfire at Mr. Mendoza Hernandez, an FBI agent said in court documents. The migrant was struck several times.

Prosecutors said he was taken to a hospital, was treated and released to the FBI on April 13.

The shooting follows a number of high-profile incidents involving people allegedly using vehicles as weapons against Homeland Security officers, who in some cases have fired back.

The most prominent was that of Renee Good, a U.S. citizen who defied orders to stop her vehicle on the streets of Minneapolis, then lurched the SUV forward, striking a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who fired into the vehicle, killing her.

That case remains under investigation.

In another Minneapolis case, personnel from Customs and Border Protection killed Alex Pretti in a confrontation during protests against immigration enforcement.

In the new case this week, an FBI agent told the court that Mr. Mendoza Hernandez was wanted for immigration status violations.

The FBI agent said three of the officers had clothing marking them as law enforcement, and they were not wearing masks.

He said the officers told Mr. Mendoza Hernandez they were going to break his window, which is when they first drew their weapons.

The FBI agent, in his affidavit April 9, said at that time he had yet to speak with the agents who fired their weapons, but video of the incident justified the charges against Mr. Mendoza Hernandez.

No lawyer was listed for Mr. Mendoza Hernandez in court files Tuesday.