The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reported that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehended a Harvard Law School professor implicated in a shooting incident near a synagogue this past October. This arrest marks a significant development in a case that has drawn widespread attention.

Carlos Portugal Gouvea, a Brazilian national, was taken into custody on October 2, following allegations that he discharged a BB gun outside a synagogue in the Boston area. The incident, which occurred just before Yom Kippur, raised serious concerns within the community.

At the time of his arrest, Gouvea explained to authorities that his actions were an attempt to “hunt rats.” Despite this explanation, the legal consequences swiftly followed.

By November 13, Gouvea had entered a guilty plea for the illegal use of the air rifle. However, additional charges, including disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, and property vandalism, were subsequently dismissed.

In response to these developments, Harvard University decided to suspend Gouvea pending the outcome of the investigation. This decision underscores the gravity of the situation and the university’s commitment to maintaining its standards. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Harvard Crimson first reported Gouvea was suspended by the university pending the investigation, with synagogue leaders noting in an email the shooting was not “fueled by antisemitism.”

Two weeks after the shooting, the Department of State revoked his temporary non-immigrant (J-1) visa.

ICE Boston Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested Gouvea on Wednesday, and he agreed to voluntarily leave the U.S., rather than be deported, according to DHS.

Harvard Law visiting professor Carlos Portugal Gouvea was detained by ICE on Wednesday. (Getty Images)

“It is a privilege to work and study in the United States, not a right,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote in a statement. “There is no room in the United States for brazen, violent acts of anti-Semitism like this. They are an affront to our core principals as a country and an unacceptable threat against law-abiding American citizens.”

McLaughlin added DHS is “under zero obligation to admit foreigners who commit these inexplicably reprehensible acts or to let them stay here.”

There were conflicting reports about the motive of the shooting, which allegedly took place outside a synagogue. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

“Secretary [Kristi] Noem has made it clear that anyone who thinks they can come to America and commit anti-American and anti-Semitic violence and terrorism should think again,” she wrote. “You are not welcome here.”

Gouvea was a visiting professor of law at Harvard, with his full-time position being an associate professor at the University of São Paulo Law School and CEO of IDGlobal in Brazil.

The university website noted he led research that shaped major Brazilian Supreme Court decisions, documented violence against Indigenous peoples, and participated on the boards of several Brazilian companies, including the Fulbright Commission, Brazilian Students Organization, Generation and Sempre SanFran.

Harvard did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.