Two people were injured on Wednesday, Dec. 24, after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers opened fire on a vehicle during an enforcement operation in Maryland, federal officials said.
Officers were conducting a "targeted immigration enforcement operation" in Glen Burnie, Maryland, just south of Baltimore, when they approached a van with two undocumented men, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security. DHS said officers ordered the driver, identified as Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins, to turn off the engine, but he "refused and attempted to flee" and proceeded to ram his van into other ICE vehicles.
"He then drove his van directly at ICE officers, attempting to run them over," officials said on social media.
DHS said the ICE officers fired their weapons and struck Sousa-Martins, who crashed the vehicle. The passenger, identified as Solomon Antonio Serrano-Esquivel, a native of El Salvador, was injured in the crash.
Federal officials shared photos of the damaged white van, which appeared to have collided with a tree in a wooded area. Both men were hospitalized and are expected to recover from their injuries, DHS said, adding that no officers were severely injured.
