ICE Shooting in Maine Kills Wrong Man, Body Cameras Were Off

A 26-year-old Colombian man was fatally shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday — and officials have since confirmed he was not the person agents were targeting in the operation, intensifying scrutiny of the deadly encounter amid calls for an independent investigation.

What Happened in Biddeford

ICE agents conducting a surveillance operation at approximately 7 a.m. Monday were targeting a man with a final order of removal. Joan Sebastian Guerrero, who lived at or near the same address, departed the location in a vehicle. When agents attempted to stop the car, the vehicle moved toward them, and an agent fired his weapon, striking Guerrero, who died from his injuries.

“He was in a vehicle — pulled out in the vehicle, and the term the secretary used was ‘weaponized’ the vehicle and was shot by an ICE agent,” Senator Angus King, I-Maine, told reporters after being briefed by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

King disclosed that Guerrero was not the target of the ICE shooting Maine Joan Sebastian Guerrero operation and that agents had been pursuing another individual under a final removal order. King initially told reporters that Mullin had described Guerrero as the intended target before correcting the record.

Critically, King confirmed that body cameras on the agents were not activated at the time of the shooting. “We have no video evidence of what occurred in this case,” he said. The FBI has taken over the investigation because the operation was federal.

ICE’s Account and a Witness’s Contradictory Version

ICE said in a statement that the vehicle “attempted to flee the scene” and that the agent discharged his weapon “fearing for public safety.” The agency did not confirm that the man shot was not the person being sought.

Eyewitness Daniel Boucher told ABC News he watched agents pull Guerrero from the car and put him on the ground. “I heard the young man say, ‘I tried to stop.’ I clearly heard him say that,” Boucher said, adding he overheard an ICE agent claim the driver tried to run him over. “I could no longer see any movement, which meant he had expired. He was bloody, his face was bloody. It was awful.”

A Ring camera video obtained by ABC News from a nearby residence captured the sound of at least five gunshots. Multiple bullet holes were visible in the front windshield of Guerrero’s car.

Victim Described as Authorized to Work in the US

Two Maine immigration advocacy groups — the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and Presente! — said in a joint statement that Guerrero was a Colombian national authorized to work in the United States who held a Social Security number. The groups called for a prompt, independent, and transparent investigation, and for the preservation of all body camera footage, surveillance recordings, and communications among federal officials involved.

“ICE must not be allowed to investigate itself or control the public narrative surrounding a death in which its personnel or operations were involved,” the groups said.

The Colombian Embassy in Washington issued a statement expressing deep regret over the death and said it had requested information from the Department of Homeland Security regarding the circumstances of the shooting while providing consular assistance to Guerrero’s family.

Community Protests, Authorities Respond

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at Mechanics Park in Biddeford Monday evening for an impromptu vigil demanding justice. A second protest is planned Tuesday morning outside a federal immigration facility in Scarborough, Maine.

Maine Governor Janet Mills said she was briefed on the shooting and confirmed federal law enforcement was involved. “I know situations like these are alarming and frightening,” Mills said, adding that the Maine State Police, the Attorney General’s Office, and federal officials are working jointly to determine the facts.

The Maine Attorney General’s Office confirmed the ICE operation targeted a man subject to a final removal order and said “the suspect attempted to flee in the vehicle in the direction of the officer and was fatally shot.”

The shooting marks at least the ninth death involving federal immigration agents since the start of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.