Woman shot after allegedly attempting to hit ICE agents with car

CHICAGO — Federal authorities opened fire on a woman who was allegedly armed with a gun shortly after their vehicle was rammed and blocked in by a group of cars on the Southwest Side on Saturday afternoon.

According to officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the incident unfolded in an area near West 39th Place and South Kedzie Avenue in Brighton Park.

DHS officials say border patrol agents were conducting a routine patrol in the area when they were allegedly “attacked and rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars.”

Agents exited the trapped vehicle, and officials said that was when a female suspect, who is a US citizen, allegedly attempted to run them over, forcing the agents to open fire.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the woman who allegedly attempted to run the agents over was also allegedly armed with a “semi-automatic weapon.”

Officials said after the woman was shot, she drove herself to the hospital.

Sources confirmed to WGN-TV that the woman was then hospitalized in critical condition. No agents were wounded during the incident.

“One of the drivers who rammed the law enforcement vehicle was armed with a semi-automatic weapon. Law enforcement was forced to deploy their weapons and fired defensive shots at an armed US citizen who drove herself to the hospital to get care for wounds,” McLaughlin said. “Comparing ICE day-in and day-out to the Nazi Gestapo, the Secret Police, and slave patrols has consequences. The men and women of ICE and CBP are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They get up every morning to try and make our communities safer. Like everyone else, they just want to go home to their families at night. The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop. We are praying for our law enforcement and their families. This is an evolving situation, and we will give the public more information as soon as it becomes available.”  

McLaughlin added that the woman allegedly involved in the incident was one who had been named in a CBP intelligence bulletin last week for allegedly doxing agents online.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois also issued the following statement on the incident:

“The Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office is aware of this serious incident, which placed officer life and safety at risk. This Department of Justice does not tolerate assaults and obstruction of our brave men and women in federal law enforcement. We will investigate and prosecute all those who assault or obstruct federal law enforcement, including public officials, and we will hold them accountable to the full extent of the law.”

Federal agents are now investigating the incident, and the FBI is on the scene.  

An FBI spokesperson issued the following statement on the incident.

“FBI assets have responded, and are investigating, the incident in Chicago. Trying to intimidate law enforcement will not slow us down. The mission will not stop.”

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she’s deploying “more special operations to control the scene.”

“Today in Chicago, members of our brave law enforcement were attacked—rammed and boxed in by ten vehicles, including an attacker with a semi-automatic weapon. I am deploying more special operations to control the scene. Reinforcements are on their way. If you see a law enforcement officer today, thank them,” Noem wrote on social media platform X.

Officials from the Chicago Police Department said officers initially responded to the incident when it came in as a call about a person shot, but were not involved in the incident or its investigation.

According to CPD, officers responded to the scene to document the incident and maintain safety, as well as conduct traffic control for those living and working in the area.

Sources confirmed to WGN-TV that internal communication from CPD’s Chief of Patrol instructed officers not to respond to the area. The call they received, sources confirmed, was from one of approximately 30 armed border patrol agents who were on scene. 

The incident comes after weeks of clashes between protesters and federal authorities as they conduct an immigration enforcement operation dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz,” which focuses on Chicago and Illinois.

The operation has been met with intense scrutiny from state and local leaders as well as community members, including those who make up “rapid response teams,” who have been making their presence known on the streets of Chicagoland.

Despite the pushback, more than 900 arrests have been made in the weeks since the operation began.