• Victim identified after DHS speaks out: Federal agents shot and killed a 26-year-old Colombian man — identified as Joan Sebastian Guerrero by a neighbor — during an immigration enforcement operation in Maine on Monday morning. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fired his weapon “fearing for public safety” as the victim “attempted to flee the scene,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement nearly 12 hours after the incident.
• Conflicting accounts: Guerrero was “NOT the target of the warrant,” Sen. Angus King’s office said after the lawmaker again spoke with DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. King said earlier, citing a separate conversation with Mullin, that the man was the target of a warrant.
• A young father and husband: Guerrero’s neighbor said the young man, who was headed to work when the shooting happened, lived with his partner and their 3-year-old daughter. “He was a good person,” his neighbor told CNN.
46 Posts
Scroll through the posts below for more coverage on the fatal shooting in Biddeford, Maine, of Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old husband and father from Colombia.
Federal agents shot and killed a 26-year-old Colombian man — identified as Joan Sebastian Guerrero by a neighbor — during an immigration enforcement operation in Maine on Monday morning, the second such incident in the US in less than a week, coming only days after an agent fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican immigrant, during a traffic stop in Texas.
Fallout from the two incidents – unfolding nearly 2,000 miles apart – also reached Minneapolis, where calls for accountability among Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been reignited following the January shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
From Biddeford, Maine, to Houston, Texas, here’s what you need to know:
The man that was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Maine was identified as 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero, his neighbor, Nelson Elias, told CNN.
On the sidewalk near where an ICE agent fatally shot a man Monday morning, people have left flowers and candles for their fallen neighbor. One sign reads, “Immigrants make Biddeford great.”
Federal agents stop vehicle in Maine shooting scene, surveillance footage shows
2:37 • Source: CNN
Federal agents stop vehicle in Maine shooting scene, surveillance footage shows
2:37
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo's brother says it took 20 to 30 minutes for ambulance to arrive after shooting, according to attorney
1:52 • Source: CNN
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo's brother says it took 20 to 30 minutes for ambulance to arrive after shooting, according to attorney
1:52
King: Fatal ICE shooting is result of quota-based crackdown
4:46 • Source: CNN
King: Fatal ICE shooting is result of quota-based crackdown
4:46
Current and former Homeland Security officials and federal law enforcement officers were stunned Monday evening by the department’s explanation of what unfolded in Maine, where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot a man.
The agency said the officer fired his weapon “fearing for public safety,” citing the man attempting to flee in a vehicle. Notably, DHS did not say the driver weaponized his vehicle as the federal agency has said in previous incidents, including in Houston last week. The agency also didn’t provide additional details on what else, if anything, may have constituted a threat.
A tribute is popping up at the site where a man was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Biddeford, Maine, earlier today.
The killing of a man in Biddeford, Maine, today by an ICE agent was “another senseless tragedy,” just days after another man was shot by ICE in Houston, said Juan Proaño, the CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens.
“Those officers were never in danger. They were clearly on the side of the vehicle. They were neither in front of the vehicle or behind the vehicle, and there was no high speed chase that was actually involved,” he told CNN.
The Department of Homeland Security said an ICE officer fired his weapon “fearing for public safety” as the victim of Monday’s fatal shooting, in a vehicle, “attempted to flee the scene.”
Proaño warned that this will “continue to escalate until we finally put a stop to it,” and called for every federal agent to wear a body camera “at all times.”
The man had a family, legal status and a work permit, he said. Federal officials have not confirmed those details.
“How long are we going to accept this as a country, as a society that is supposed to be, you know, a leader in the world? We’re not leading,” Proaño said.
This post was updated with additional information.
Responding to CNN reporting that the man fatally shot by an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agent this morning was not the target of an operation, Maine Gov. Janet Mills said in a post on X, “This development makes this tragedy even more disturbing and infuriating.”
She continued that “it underscores the reckless and haphazard manner in which immigration enforcement operations are being conducted in Maine and across the country,” adding that enforcement action “has to end.”
As people take to the streets to protest the shooting, she encouraged Mainers to do so peacefully.
An ICE officer fired his weapon “fearing for public safety” as the victim of Monday’s fatal shooting, in a vehicle, “attempted to flee the scene,” the Department of Homeland Security said in its first official statement nearly 12 hours after the incident in Maine.
The department did not share details on why the officer believed the man was a public safety risk.
The man was not the target of the immigration enforcement operation, according to the office of Maine Sen. Angus King, citing a conversation with DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. DHS said it had been conducting surveillance on a last known address of an undocumented immigrant with a final order of removal, when someone departed the residence.
“On July 13, 2026, at approximately 7:00 AM ET, ICE was conducting targeted surveillance on the last known address of an illegal alien with a final order of removal. An illegal alien departed the residence in a vehicle. ICE law enforcement attempted to conduct a vehicle stop. The vehicle attempted to flee the scene and fearing for public safety an officer discharged his weapon,” the statement said.
Emergency services were contacted after driver was struck by gunfire, DHS said. “He passed away from his injuries.”
“The Biddeford Police Department and FBI responded to the scene. DHS OIG has been notified and like all discharge of firearms this will be investigated,” DHS said “This is a developing situation, and we will update the public when more information is available.”
The Senate of the Republic of Mexico on Monday condemned incidents related to the actions of US immigration authorities involving the deaths of 17 Mexican citizens, including Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent on July 7.
The Senate called for thorough investigations into each death to determine responsibility and provide justice for the victims and their families, according to a statement shared on X.
Of the 17 Mexican citizens who have died during President Donald Trump’s second term, 14 were in ICE custody and three died in operations carried out by the agency, the Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco said.
The Senate said it will consistently monitor the investigations and request periodic reports from the proper immigration authorities.
Biddeford Mayor Liam LaFountain said he is mourning for those affected by the fatal ICE-involved shooting this morning in his Maine city, including the victim’s family.
“I am mourning for the individuals impacted, for the family that lost a father, lost a partner, and a community member as well,” he told CNN affiliate WGME. “I’m going to be calling for – along with other elected officials in our state – for a full and thorough, transparent investigation from the federal government and the involvement of Maine State Police.”
The identity of the man who was killed has not been revealed, with the Office of the Maine Attorney General saying earlier today it would not name the victim until he’s been positively identified and family members are notified.
A 26-year-old Colombian man fatally shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Biddeford, Maine, was “NOT the target of the warrant,” Sen. Angus King’s office said after the lawmaker again spoke with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
King said earlier, citing a separate conversation with Mullin, that the man was the target of a warrant.
Here’s what we know so far about the shooting in Maine:
- A woman’s Ring camera captured the moment gunshots were heard in the Maine shooting. Additionally, an eyewitness near the fatal shooting says she heard gunshots. Laura Peters said she heard people yelling “stop” on her home’s security camera, but the scene was quiet when she got there. Now that she knows what transpired, Peters said she’s afraid for her kids and feels “terror.”
- Hours after gunfire rang through the streets of the small city, details around how the incident unfolded remain scant, and DHS has yet to release a statement about what happened.
- In a statement announcing it is investigating the incident, the Office of the Maine Attorney General said initial statements claim the man who died was attempting to flee in a vehicle “in the direction of the officer” before he was shot. DHS’ Office of Inspector General’s Boston field office has taken over the investigation of the shooting, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said she was told by Mullin.
- Maine officials will “remain tough” in making sure they investigate what took place in Monday’s shooting, the state’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Over the last week, two men were fatally shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during immigration enforcement operations – but neither appear to have been the direct targets of those operations, according to a source and Maine Sen. Angus King.
Last Tuesday, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was killed in Houston by an ICE agent while he was on his way to work, but he wasn’t the target of the immigration operation, according to a source with preliminary details about the incident. ICE hasn’t specified if he was a target of the operation.
Texas authorities previously notified ICE about two individuals — neither of whom was Salgado Araujo — traveling in a white van believed to be in the United States without legal status, according to the source, prompting them to surveil the vehicle.
Officials surveilled the target’s address for weeks, where two white vans were seen at the property, a Homeland Security official told CNN. As officers were on their way to the target’s address on July 7, they saw a white van with a person who resembled the target, the official said. The van was registered to Salgado Araujo, who agents determined to be in the country illegally, the source said. This is what led to Tuesday’s confrontation.
While many details of Monday’s shooting in Maine aren’t known, Maine Sen. Angus King said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the man was “NOT the target of the warrant,” according to the senator’s office.
King had told reporters earlier in the day the man fatally shot by agents was the target of a warrant, citing a conversation with Mullin. CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for more information on the shooting, which is yet to release information on what happened Monday.
A witness who lives near the scene where Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents shot a 26-year-old Colombian man in Biddeford, Maine, said she heard gunshots.
Laura Peters said that she initially thought a car backfired.
“I was getting my DoorDash and I thought I heard a car backfiring, and I asked the DoorDash driver if that was a car. He said he didn’t know, so we kind of went down to the corner, and saw a bunch of vehicles pull up at the same time, marked and unmarked,” she told CNN’s Jason Carroll.
Peters described seeing three vehicles and vested men. Peters said she didn’t see the body being pulled out of the car, but she could tell what was happening.
Peters said she heard people yelling “stop” on her home’s security camera, but the scene was quiet when she got there.
Now that she knows what transpired, Peters said she’s afraid for her kids and she feels “terror.”
Correction: An earlier photo with this post misidentified the person pictured. The person pictured was Em Ackerly.
Local officials in Minnesota now have most of the evidence regarding the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents after it was withheld from them for months, Hennepin County District Attorney Mary Moriarty said.
Federal investigators shared a “great deal of evidence” with local authorities today, including body camera footage from the federal agents’ interaction with Pretti, Moriarty told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
The district attorney’s office previously filed a lawsuit seeking a judge’s order that the federal government turn over the information to local officials, she said. Now, they “appear to have most of that evidence,” Moriarty said.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in a statement today that its office has “been in discussions” with federal authorities since the shootings occurred. The BCA and federal entities eventually were able to reach an agreement to share information, BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Sen. Susan Collins of Maine the agency’s Office of Inspector General’s Boston field office has taken over the investigation of the ICE-involved shooting in Biddeford, Maine, the senator said.
“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin has informed me that the Boston office of the DHS Inspector General has taken over the investigation of the Biddeford shooting in cooperation with the FBI,” Collins wrote on X.
The senator said earlier Monday that Biddeford police had secured the scene and that the FBI was investigating.
The DHS Inspector General is the department’s independent watchdog agency that routinely examines certain use-of-force incidents by DHS officers.