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ICE agent shoots man while trying to arrest his mom’s boyfriend

Protesters are gathering outside of the hospital he is at.

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Samira Sadeque

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An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent reportedly shot a man in the face while trying to arrest his mother’s boyfriend in Brooklyn on Thursday morning. 

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The ICE agents were trying to serve a deportation order to Gaspar Avendano-Hernandez, a 33-year-old undocumented immigrant. Eric Cruz, who is his girlfriend’s 26-year-old son, intervened when they attempted to detain Avendano-Hernandez. Cruz “physically attacked” the arresting agents, according to the New York Post which spoke with an ICE spokeswoman and law enforcement sources. 

An ICE source told the Post that Cruz was trying to reach for the agent’s gun.

The agent then fired his gun, ABC7NY reports. The bullet went through Cruz’s hand and into his face. Cruz, who was also arrested for intervening, was taken to Maimonides Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

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In a video shared on Facebook, Cruz’s brother Kevin Yanez-Cruz said Cruz was just passing by when ICE shot him. 

“He wasn’t getting involved. He was just going to pass by. … And that’s when they shot him,” he says in the video. 

https://www.facebook.com/KatieLusso12/videos/646573879432985/?__xts__[0]=68.ARBhQR0RA2vS9Lahwkts1sJIjWE6z-GUJKNqZc2zaLJ5GFBgyOL-1-LUOIzbQvQiLl3F5A1WYnYMOtdU27Ffbcisb1a4hFwDZX6ngrAldzV7xQtOZNIqlN2QA2MewC6CnP-BkP06UqOmX5_s-VBVWCDzJ4gocZEKRE4MkFyp5lDgZg7eZ0Ra2dmUYensb0nalaJ5S3NFp-tT71nIcC-p5R_0BWmjIUODYbIHRbbpGMC202h-F2e_Ei82Owhyet6dolOsiPn1kw6XCeso8JkjvS9HzyeTK5MdETaUnmr7a_3IvH0Ah73sWOTltk8NDQGRQLEijgFC1e_jb0HpoM4DyK-WqucbjtoB_vJY0Q&__tn__=-R

 

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In a statement to the Daily Dot, ICE acknowledged one of its agents “discharged at least one firearm” during the Avendano-Hernandez’s arrest, and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) is currently investigating the incident. 

According to its statement, Avendano-Hernandez had been deported from the U.S. twice before and was convicted of a 2011 assault in New York. 

Protesters have since gathered outside the hospital where Cruz, who is in stable but critical condition, is at. 

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ICE said in the statement to the Daily Dot that two of its officers were taken to a local hospital for treatment, and Avendano-Hernandez is currently in its custody, along with another unidentified person.

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The Daily Dot