A Venezuelan man who was fatally shot Monday night by an off-duty FBI agent in Chicago had previously been apprehended and released at the southern border during the Biden administration, according to multiple federal law enforcement sources who spoke with Fox News.
The FBI said Tuesday that the agent was driving home alone in a Bureau-issued vehicle when he encountered an armed man firing at a group of people. The agent intervened to stop the threat, and the shooting is now under internal review, the bureau said.
Federal sources identified the man as 27-year-old Oscar D. Corrales. They said he was firing a gun toward people in a homeless encampment when the off-duty agent came upon him.
According to the sources, the agent stopped his vehicle, got out and shot Corrales, killing him.
The FBI’s Chicago field office (Stan Honda/AFP Photo via Getty Images)
In a statement to News Media, the FBI said the shooting happened at approximately 5:30 p.m. Monday near West 18th Street and South Union Avenue in Chicago. The agent reportedly saw the individual fire at least two shots toward a group of people.
The FBI said no agents were hurt and that no other injuries were reported.
Federal law enforcement sources told Fox News that Corrales was apprehended at the southern border in October 2023 and later released into the United States during the Biden administration.
The FBI separately confirmed Corrales’ immigration history, saying it learned after the shooting that he was an illegal immigrant from Venezuela who had been taken into custody at the border in 2023 and released during the previous administration.
Sources also said Corrales had previously been arrested in California and released despite an ICE detainer.
Details about that arrest, including the charges and the California jurisdiction that released Corrales, were not immediately available.
The FBI’s Chicago Division office in the Medical District of Chicago (Nikolas Lanum/News Media)
Sources stressed that Monday’s deadly encounter was not related to an immigration enforcement operation. The FBI agent was off duty, and the shooting was described as an unrelated incident.
The FBI said its Inspection Division is reviewing the shooting under bureau policy for agent-involved incidents.
The bureau said it does not expect to provide additional information while the investigation is ongoing.
The Chicago Police Department confirmed to News Media that officers responded to a shooting involving federal agents in the 1700 block of South Union Avenue. The department said its Investigative Response Team was at the scene documenting the incident and directed further questions to the FBI’s Chicago field office.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office provided News Media with a record identifying Corrales as a 27-year-old man under case number 5735.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office provided News Media with a record identifying Corrales as a 27-year-old man under case number 5735.