CHICAGO (WGN) – An incident involving gunfire directed at U.S. Border Patrol agents occurred during immigration operations in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood on Saturday afternoon.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, agents were carrying out immigration enforcement near the intersection of 26th Street and Kedzie Avenue when a man in a black Jeep allegedly opened fire on them before fleeing the scene.
This event marks a tense moment amid a series of Chicagoland immigration raids, which have led to the arrest of over 3,000 individuals in the past two months.
The DHS also reports that alongside the gunfire, a group of individuals hurled a paint can and bricks at the Border Patrol vehicle.
CPD said their officers were sent to the area for reports of shots fired at federal agents. Officers secured the scene and there are no reports of anyone hit by gunfire.
One police officer, however, was accidentally hit by a GMC pickup truck driven by a 20-year-old woman. The officer suffered minor injuries and was taken to an area hospital in good condition, while the woman was issued two citations, according to CPD.
The suspect who reportedly fired shots at the agents and the Jeep he was driving have not been found.
Those who live in the area, however, are accusing federal agents of being aggressive.
Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward) said he asked agents for warrants and identification after hearing they tried to detain a man in a vehicle.
“When we arrived here, there was an 11-year-old little girl dragged by these masked individuals and the neighbors are trying to surround to make sure that they didn’t take her,” he said.
Sigcho-Lopez added that witnesses told him agents broke the window of a car.
“Look at what they’ve done to our community. Since 10 a.m. then and this is sadness. This is outrageous,” he said.
Nexstar’s WGN-TV has reached out to DHS on the incident involving an 11-year-old girl and is awaiting a response.
Once federal agents cleared the area, protesters turned their attention to remaining CPD officer conducting crowd control, yelling “shame” in their direction.
“This incident is not isolated and reflects a growing and dangerous trend of violence and obstruction. Over the past two months, we’ve seen an increase in assaults and obstruction targeting federal law enforcement during operations. These confrontations highlight the dangers our agents face daily and the escalating aggression toward law enforcement. The violence must end,” DHS said.
It’s been two months since the Trump administration launched Operation Midway Blitz. Those who live in the area said they’ve had enough.
“I’m asking them to de-escalate. Ilive here. My daughter goes to school here. We went shopping. We’re trying to go shopping. I went to Walgreens. Ridiculous, it’s enough already. This needs to stop,” one protester said.
It’s unclear how many people were detained Saturday.
No other information was released.
