Shenna Bellows says Durán Guerrero did not deserve to be shot

Shenna BellowsMaine secretary of state and U.S. Senate candidate speaking in a debate

Condemned

Bellows said Durán Guerrero did not deserve to be shot in the street in front of his young daughter and nearby families.

“We know the facts. He was a good guy. All of his neighbors said so. He was legally here, and you know what? Doesn’t matter. Nobody deserves to get shot in the streets when their 3-year-old daughter is still in her pajamas, and there are other kids and other families nearby just getting ready to work, getting ready to go about their day.”

Reporting

Open source (opens in a new tab)Maine Senate candidates call ICE shooting ‘appalling’ during debateShenna Bellows’s remarks during the July 16 debate

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Flowers, signs, photographs, and an American flag at the memorial for Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine.
Credit: Ari Snider / Maine Public

Where this statement fits

Was the ICE officer justified in fatally shooting Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero?

On July 13, 2026, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero during an attempted vehicle stop at Pool and Hill streets in Biddeford, Maine. ICE said Guerrero's vehicle attempted to flee and that the officer fired because he feared for public safety; Maine's initial account said the vehicle moved in the officer's direction. A nearby resident said he heard Guerrero say he had tried to stop and heard the officer say Guerrero tried to hit him. Security cameras recorded gunfire and portions of the aftermath but do not continuously show the vehicle's path at the moment of firing, and the agents reportedly lacked activated body cameras. The Associated Press and relatives identified the shooter as David Brouillette, though DHS has not confirmed his identity. In late September 2026, the Maine attorney general's office declined to comment on its investigation and had announced no finding. The dispute is whether Guerrero's vehicle posed an imminent threat when the officer fired.

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Source and context

Reporting

Maine Senate candidates call ICE shooting ‘appalling’ during debate (opens in a new tab)Shenna Bellows’s remarks during the July 16 debate

About this source

The report summarizes Maine U.S. Senate candidates’ responses during a debate following the shooting.

Archived copy (opens in a new tab)

Before the quotation

Bellows was asked about the shooting during a Maine U.S. Senate candidate debate.

After the quotation

She emphasized that the victim’s legal status and character did not alter her judgment that the shooting was unacceptable.

How this statement is classified

Condemned

The label describes this statement's response within the context above.

Why this label?

She directly rejects the shooting as undeserved and therefore condemns the use of deadly force.

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More from this case

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Blumenthal co-signs letter citing Durán Guerrero's death as showing inadequate ICE use-of-force training

Richard Blumenthal

“On July 13, 2026, an ICE officer in Biddeford, Maine fatally shot Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old father, in his car after agents rammed his vehicle and fired multiple rounds through it while executing a warrant for someone else. Mr. Durán Guerrero was not the target of the operation and was authorized to work in the United States. ... These killings, combined with the whistleblower's account of corners cut on both vetting and training, make clear that officers hired during the surge did not receive adequate instruction in de-escalation, use-of-force standards, and vehicle-stop protocols before being sent into communities with the authority to use deadly force.”
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Richard Blumenthal says Durán Guerrero was murdered

Richard Blumenthal

“State and local authorities have been stymied and stopped in their effort to investigate. ICE has withheld and concealed evidence. The failure to investigate is obvious and deeply wrong and shameful for the federal government. On July 7, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a father and husband, was shot and killed by ICE agents while on his way to work in Houston. And just five days later, Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero was murdered in Maine, leaving behind a wife and three-year-old daughter.”
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Shenna Bellows says Durán Guerrero did not deserve to be shot
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The Dispute Index. "Shenna Bellows says Durán Guerrero did not deserve to be shot". First published: 2026-09-22. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1467-bellows-said-dur%C3%A1n-guerrero-did-not-deserve-to