Federal agents shoot woman in Chicago suburb after allegedly being rammed, boxed in by cars, DHS says

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said federal agents on Saturday morning shot a woman in the Chicago suburb of Broadview after the agents allegedly became boxed in by vehicles.

According to a statement from DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, the incident unfolded when agents were patrolling in west suburban Broadview, where they have an ICE facility that has been the site of ongoing protests and clashes between agents and demonstrators. 

The patrolling agents were rammed by vehicles and “boxed in by 10 cars,” DHS said. The statement did not say where in Broadview this occurred, but that it was “in the same area” as the ICE facility. 

DHS said the agents were unable to move their vehicles and got out of the car. According to DHS officials, one of the drivers of a car boxing them in had a gun, which the agency said was a semi-automatic weapon. DHS said the agents opened fire, striking the driver, who they said is a woman. She was taken to a hospital for treatment. They did not offer further information about her condition, where she was shot, or how badly she was injured. 

In their statement, DHS claimed the woman was named in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection intelligence bulletin last week for doxxing agents and posting threats against ICE online. They have not released her name or any other further information that could corroborate those claims.

DHS said no agents were injured.

DHS accused Chicago police of not helping during the incident, though Chicago police have no jurisdiction in Broadview. DHS also said in its statement that “there is a growing crowd and we are deploying special operations to control the scene.”

Chicago police said in a statement they responded to the 3900 block of South Kedzie in the city’s Brighton Park neighborhood for a report of a person shot. Brighton Park is several miles away from Broadview, where McLaughlin’s statement said the shooting took place.

A second statement from DHS a short time later said Border Patrol officers were patrolling near 39th Place and S. Kedzie before repeating McLaughlin’s statement that said the incident took place in Broadview. CBS News Chicago has reached out to DHS officials for clarification, but they have just referred us to their statement. 

Chicago police said they responded to document the incident, and to maintain safety and traffic control, but are not involved in the incident or investigation. CPD said federal authorities are investigating the shooting and “all further inquiries regarding the circumstances of this shooting should be referred to the appropriate federal authorities.”

The FBI said in a social media post Saturday afternoon that, “Following recent events during immigration enforcement in Broadview, the FBI and our federal law enforcement and prosecutorial partners continue to aggressively pursue charges and investigate violence against officers, obstruction of justice, and destruction of federal property. Our office is committed to ensuring the safety of Chicago’s streets and all of our neighborhoods.”

CBS News Chicago has reached out to Broadview police for more information and are waiting to hear back. 

Camilo Montoya-Galvez

contributed to this report.