Two illegal aliens are accused of targeting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents with a van on Wednesday in Glen Burnie, Maryland.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said ICE officers were conducting an immigration enforcement operation in the area when the incident happened.
“Agents positively identified the driver of a van as Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins, an illegal alien from Portugal. In the passenger seat was Solomon Antonio Serrano-Esquivel, an illegal alien from El Salvador,” the agency’s social media post read.
Authorities said the officers approached the vehicle and told Sousa-Martins to switch off the engine. However, he allegedly refused to obey and tried to flee the scene. He is also accused of ramming his vehicle into ICE vehicles at the scene.
“He then drove his van directly at ICE officers, attempting to run them over. Fearing for their lives and public safety, the ICE officers defensively fired their service weapons, striking the driver. Sousa-Martins then wrecked his van between two buildings, injuring the passenger,” the agency said.
Images show the van with its front crumpled against a tree:
The officers rendered medical aid to both of the men who are now in stable condition at a local hospital. DHS noted the ICE officers escaped severe injury during the incident.
According to Anne Arundel County Police Department spokesperson Justin Mulacahy, one of the people inside the van was hit by gunfire and an individual outside the van suffered minor injuries, Fox News reported.
“Our brave officers are risking their lives every day to keep American communities safe by arresting and removing illegal aliens from our streets. Continued efforts to encourage illegal aliens and violent agitators to actively resist ICE will only lead to more violent incidents, the extremist rhetoric must stop,” DHS stated.
In November, a citizen was accused of weaponizing a van against police officers in Charlotte, North Carolina, where ICE agents were conducting a targeted immigration operation, Breitbart News reported.
As President Donald Trump and his administration crack down on illegal alien crime across the nation, ICE has launched a campaign to recruit thousands of new agents and officers to defend the United States, per Breitbart News.
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