Los Angeles — Federal officers shot a man in the elbow and a deputy U.S. marshal was injured by a ricochet during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforcement traffic stop in South Los Angeles on Tuesday morning, officials said. The operation — described by authorities as a targeted effort to apprehend a person who had previously avoided custody — left both men hospitalized and prompted a brief lockdown at a nearby high school. (AP News)
Authorities identified the man as 44-year-old Carlitos Ricardo Parias of South Los Angeles, who was taken into custody and later charged in federal court with assaulting a federal officer after allegedly ramming his car into law enforcement vehicles when agents tried to box him in. Officials said Parias was shot once in the elbow. (Department of Justice)
Department of Homeland Security officials said ICE agents fired “defensive shots” after the vehicle struck federal vehicles during the traffic stop. A deputy U.S. marshal assisting the action suffered a hand injury caused by a ricochet and was expected to recover, according to DHS statements. The department said the officers followed their training and acted in self-defense. (AP News)
The incident happened in the morning near East 20th Street and Trinity Street, close to the Santee Education Complex; school officials briefly placed the campus on lockdown while law enforcement secured the scene. Local reporters and residents gathered near California Hospital, where both the suspect and the marshal were taken for treatment. (ABC7 Los Angeles)
The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a federal criminal complaint charging Parias with assault on a federal officer, and prosecutors said he could face significant prison time if convicted. DHS and the U.S. Marshals Service said they have opened reviews of the shooting; local advocates and community members called for transparency and accountability, adding the shooting intensifies already heated debates over federal immigration enforcement in Los Angeles. (Department of Justice)
Reaction from community groups and elected officials was swift. Some advocacy organizations urged independent investigation and criticized what they described as an expansion of aggressive enforcement operations in neighborhoods already strained by immigration enforcement activity. Federal officials, for their part, defended the agents’ actions and linked the confrontation to a suspect’s reported attempt to evade arrest. (The Washington Post)
Investigators from internal oversight offices and local law enforcement are reviewing body-worn camera footage, statements from involved agents, and witness interviews as part of the ongoing inquiry. No additional arrests related to the incident were reported immediately, and both the marshal and the wounded man were listed in stable condition. (AP News)
