ICE officer fatally shoots man during traffic stop in Chicago suburb, authorities say

Federal immigration agents fatally shot a man Friday morning in the Northwest suburbs after he allegedly attempted to flee a traffic stop and struck an officer with his car, officials said.

The shooting comes days after President Donald Trump’s long-promised immigration enforcement campaign launched in the Chicago area earlier this week, generating widespread fears in the city’s and suburbs’ immigrant communities.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were conducting “targeted law enforcement activity” in Franklin Park when they stopped the vehicle, according to a statement from the agency.

During the stop, a man allegedly resisted arrest and attempted to drive his car into officers, dragging one officer, according to the statement.

The officer opened fire and shot the man, the statement said. The man was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead, the statement said.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has identified the man as Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez. The Cook County medical examiner’s office has not yet identified him.

The officer was also taken to a hospital with “severe injuries.” His condition has stabilized, according to the statement.

“We are praying for the speedy recovery of our law enforcement officer,” a DHS spokesperson said. “He followed his training, used appropriate force, and properly enforced the law to protect the public and law enforcement.”

Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement that he was “aware of the troubling incident that has unfolded in Franklin Park.

“This is a developing situation and the people of Illinois deserve a full, factual accounting of what’s happened today to ensure transparency and accountability,” Pritzker said.

The Resurrection Project, a community advocacy group, said the “horrific incident in Franklin Park shows us the real danger that militarized enforcement creates in our neighborhoods.

“A community member is dead, and an officer was injured,” Erendira Rendón, a leader with the group, said in a statement. “These are outcomes that serve no public safety purpose and leave entire communities traumatized. Safe neighborhoods depend on trust, not fear. When federal agents conduct unaccountable operations in our communities, everyone becomes less safe.”

Franklin Park resident Emilio Alvarez, 63, said he was inside his home when he heard three loud pops outside.

Alvarez stepped out and saw a federal agent on the ground and a man getting out of a semi truck. The man stopped by ICE had allegedly crashed his vehicle, a silver car, into a semi-truck that was traveling on Grand Avenue.

“Never in a million years did I think something like this would happen outside of my home,” Alvarez said.

He and his children sat outside their home Friday afternoon watching as police and FBI agents worked the scene. Alvarez said he felt ICE agents were disrupting their communities.

“Instead of fixing problems, they’re bringing problems,” said Alvarez. “Just look at all this.”

The semi-truck remained on the street later Friday afternoon with the silver car smashed into its side. Streaks of blood were smeared against the side of the car, and shattered glass littered the ground.

Ricardo De Blas, owner of nearby DBO Auto, said several vehicles with agents dressed in military fatigues arrived on Grand Avenue moments before the shooting and crash happened.

“They got out of the trucks and started covering their faces,” he said.

De Blas said the agents were looking towards him and his employees and said he thought they were going to approach them to ask about their immigration status.

“This is not okay,” he said as he looked at the wreckage. “This never should have happened.”

One week in, the Trump administration’s “Operation Midway Blitz” seems to have resulted in few actual arrests despite widespread sightings of immigration authorities reported in the Chicago area.

Federal officials released a list Wednesday of the “worst of the worst offenders” they’ve arrested during the deportation campaign. DHS claimed the 13 men “flocked to Illinois because sanctuary policies allow them to roam free and terrorize innocent Americans without consequence.”

But a Chicago Sun-Times investigation found at least two of the men, and apparently a third, were arrested outside of Illinois.

It’s unclear whether federal authorities have reported all the arrests linked to the ongoing campaign. Pritzker has warned that more ICE enforcement could be on the way, telling reporters Wednesday, “They clearly have not gone out full force yet.”

Pritzker has previously suggested the stepped-up enforcement was timed to coincide with Mexican Independence Day festivities, which begin this weekend.

This is a developing story. Check back for details.

Contributing: Mitchell Armentrout