CHICAGO – Chicago Police are clarifying misinformation about an incident on Saturday involving ICE agents and an armed woman in Chicago.
What we know:
In a statement, Chicago police clarified that officers did respond to the shooting scene involving federal agents on Saturday near the intersection of West 39th Street and South Kedzie Avenue around 10:30 a.m. Police said their purpose was to “maintain public safety and traffic control.”
No injuries to any law enforcement officers were reported. CPD said they are not investigating the shooting, but federal authorities are.
Chicago police also stated they responded to a separate call for service from federal officers involved in two hit-and-run crashes. The crashes were unrelated to the incident earlier in the day.
“Just as we do for any call for service involving a crime, we responded and documented the incidents,” the statement read. “We will always protect all individuals from harm, while prioritizing public safety and the sanctity of human life. The Chicago Police Department will always respond to anyone who is being attacked or is under the threat of physical harm.”
For incidents involving ICE agents, CPD said their supervisors will respond to the scene and determined the next appropriate action.
The backstory:
Two people are facing charges in connection with the use of cars to ram and block federal agents on Chicago’s Southwest Side on Saturday, which led to a shooting.
Federal prosecutors charged Marimar Martinez, 30, and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, 21, with forcibly assaulting, impeding, and interfering with a federal law enforcement officer, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Illinois.
Prosecutors said federal agents had conducted an operation on Saturday and Border Patrol agents acting as security detail were followed by a “convoy” of cars.
Prosecutors allege that civilian cars began to follow the agents near Oak Lawn and were driving “aggressively and erratically,” sometimes coming very close to the agents’ car, disregarding red lights and stop signs, and driving the wrong way on one-way streets.
RELATED: 2 Chicago suspects charged after cars used to impede agents, leading to shooting
The car driven by Martinez side-swiped the driver’s side of the CBP car, prosecutors said.
Martinez loudly referred to Border Patrol agents as “la migra,” according to court documents, which is common Spanish slang for immigration enforcement officials.
After hitting the agent’s car, the suspects then allegedly boxed in the vehicle, which held a total of three agents at the time.
The agents were unable to move their car and got out. One agent fired five shots at Martinez, prosecutors said.
Martinez then allegedly drove off, but paramedics found her and her car at a repair shop about a mile away near 35th Street and California Avenue. She was taken by ambulance to a hospital where she received treatment for her gunshot wounds.
Ruiz also allegedly fled, but officers later found him at a gas station about half a block away.
They were both in law enforcement custody pending an initial court appearance in Chicago.
The Source: This story contains information from the Chicago Police Department and previous Fox 32 reporting.