Colombian man killed in Maine was not the target of ICE’s operation, Sen. King says
BIDDEFORD, Maine — The Colombian man fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer this week was not the target of the operation, according to Sen. Angus King, the second time in a week that has happened.
Johan Sebastián Guerrero was shot and killed Monday during a vehicle stop by ICE officers who were conducting a “targeted surveillance” of a person with a final order of removal, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. The driver “attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon,” DHS said.
Guerrero, 26, was the father of a 3-year-old girl. He was authorized to work in the U.S., according to immigration rights advocates in Maine.
King, I-Maine, initially said at a press conference Monday that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him Guerrero was the target of an arrest warrant based on his immigration status. The senator later said Guerrero was not, in fact, the person that ICE officers had been looking for.
The Colombian embassy in the U.S. said it has asked DHS to clarify the circumstances surrounding Guerrero’s death.
King, who caucuses with Democrats, told MS NOW’s Morning Joe on Tuesday that DHS put out a “lawyerly worded statement that didn’t really defend what happened” to Guerrero.
“This was a young man who was married, had a 3-year-old daughter, was working, and wasn’t the target of the investigation,” King said. “They were going after the wrong person, and we don’t have much in the way of facts except that this fellow was killed driving a car.”
Nelson Elias Marcos, a neighbor who saw the aftermath of the shooting, told MS NOW that that he went outside after hearing the gunshots.
“First thing I saw was him and a lot of ICE agents are there, and I saw his wife and his daughter crying,” Marcos said, describing the scene as scary.
Guerrero was a food delivery driver, Marcos said.
The FBI and DHS’ Office of Inspector General are investigating Guerrero’s killing. The Maine Attorney General’s office also said it is investigating.
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Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
