ICE agent shoots at car in California standoff: Driver, CPB agents share conflicting accounts to police

ICE agent shoots at car in San Bernardino

A standoff involving ICE ends in a shooting in San Bernardino, California. The video showed a driver and at least two passengers refusing to get out of a car and a border patrol agent smashing the car window, prompting the driver to take off from the scene. DHS accuses the driver of hitting two border patrol agents with the car.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Local police in California were caught in a crossfire of conflicting accounts between border patrol agents linked to ICE, who claimed a driver hit them, and the driver calling 9-1-1 that a group of masked men shot at his car.

What we know:

The San Bernardino Police Department responded to a call of a shooting near Acacia Avenue and Baseline Street a little after 8:45 a.m. on Saturday, August 16. Upon arrival, federal agents tied to ICE told San Bernardino PD that an officer-involved shooting broke out and the man they were looking for had drove off from the scene.

A little after the police spoke with the federal agents, the driver wanted by ICE had called 9-1-1 saying a group of masked men tried to get him to pull over, broke his car window and shot at him.

The driver told 9-1-1 he did not know who they were and was looking to get help from the police. An organization called Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice shared a video believed to be of the San Bernardino incident on social media. The video showed a driver and at least two passengers refusing to get out of a car and a CBP agent smashing the car's window, prompting the driver to take off from the scene.

ICE agent smashes window of car in standoff

An organization called Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice shared a video believed to be of the San Bernardino incident on social media. The video showed a driver and at least two passengers refusing to get out of a car and a CBP agent smashing the car's window, prompting the driver to take off from the scene.

As local police in San Bernardino heard both sides of the incident – federal agents and the driver wanted by ICE – SBPD officers found the car tied to the driver in the 1000 block of Mt. View Drive.

At the time of the car being found, SBPD got a hold of the driver, but left the scene without an arrest because it was not formally known what the driver was wanted for.

Around 1:15 p.m., federal officials called SBPD asking for help in addressing a large crowd. SBPD was told that federal agents tied to ICE had tried to arrest the driver for alleged assault on a federal officer. In a statement released by the Department of Homeland Security, the driver was accused of hitting two Border Patrol officers with his car.

The Department of Homeland Security added in the same statement that the driver was briefly taken into custody before letting him go.

San Bernardino Police Department said it responded to that scene for crowd control purposes, not necessarily to go out and arrest the man for immigration reasons.

What they're saying:

Below is a statement released by the Department of Homeland Security:

"During a targeted enforcement operation in San Bernardino, CBP officers were injured during a vehicle stop when a subject refused to exit his vehicle and tried to run them down.

In the course of the incident the suspect drove his car at the officers and struck two CBP officers with his vehicle. Because of the subjects forcing a CBP officer to discharge his firearm in self-defense. The subject escaped the scene.

After the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department located the subject at a residence and briefly had him in custody, he was set free. This decision was made despite the subject refusing to comply and wounding two officers — another terrible example of California’s pro-sanctuary policies in action that shield criminals instead of protecting communities."

Dig deeper:

An immigration attorney told FOX 11 this is exactly why the Trump administration should change its policy, barring agents from wearing masks during these stops. 

"When you have families being pulled over without officers properly identifying themselves, how are they supposed to know if those individuals have the actual authority to stop them?" said immigration attorney Jose Osorio.

Osorio also disputes DHS' claim that two agents were wounded, citing the video which shows no one standing in front of the vehicle when the driver leaves the scene. 

What we don't know:

The cause of the shooting remains under investigation.

Officials have not released the identity of the driver wanted for allegedly assaulting a federal agent. As of 8 p.m. Saturday, no videos were released by federal officials showing the driver allegedly running CBP officers over.