Immigration officer injured, weapon fired during incident (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Immigration officer injured, weapon fired during incident
Police say suspect fled after pinning ICE official between two vehicles

By ANTONIO PLANAS
REVIEW-JOURNAL

A federal officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement was injured Wednesday night while trying to enforce a routine court order for deportation.

A man attempted to run over the officer in the incident, which also involved gunfire, agency officials said. The suspect then sped away.

"He saw our officer, gunned his engine and pinned our officer against the ICE car," ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice said.

Las Vegas police responded shortly before 8:30 p.m. to the scene on the 2400 block of San Marcos Street, near Pecos Road and Carey Avenue. Las Vegas police officials said an investigation is under way and confirmed that an ICE official fired a weapon in the incident.

Kice and Stephen Branch, an ICE field officer based in Salt Lake City, wouldn't name the injured officer. Branch did say that the officer was not seriously hurt.

ICE officials would not provide details about the gunfire.

"There was a firearm discharged, but I'm not at liberty now to discuss who fired it due to a pending investigation," Branch said Thursday.

ICE officials also wouldn't comment on whether the suspect who injured the officer was the same man wanted for deportation.

A woman, who did not want to be named, said she heard four shots fired. The woman, who has lived in the neighborhood for 40 years, didn't know why the suspect began ramming ICE vehicles.