DHS says Sousa-Martins "weaponized his vehicle" and officers "defensively fired their service weapons"
Official account of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
“Officers approached the vehicle and instructed Sousa-Martins to turn off the engine. The driver refused and attempted to flee, then weaponized his vehicle and began ramming his van into several ICE vehicles. He then drove his van directly at ICE officers, attempting to run them over. Fearing for their lives and public safety, the ICE officers defensively fired their service weapons, striking the driver.”
Source and context
Original post
About this source
The Department of Homeland Security's first public account of the shooting, posted on its verified X account. It names the driver and a passenger and says the passenger was injured when the van crashed. Anne Arundel County police later said the passenger was already in custody in an ICE vehicle.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
Contemporaneous report of the preliminary information Anne Arundel County police gave on December 24 and of the DHS statement. The police department later described its December 24 information as preliminary.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Anne Arundel County police had said earlier that day that ICE agents fired at a white van after it attempted to run agents over.
After the quotation
The post said the passenger was injured when the van crashed, and that both men were hospitalized in stable condition.
How this statement is classified
Responding to: Sousa-Martins rammed several ICE vehicles and then drove his van directly at ICE officers in an attempt to run them over, and the officers fired defensively because they feared for their lives and public safety.
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the officers' decision to fire on the van and DHS's account of it. DHS presents the shooting as a defensive response to a driver who was ramming vehicles and driving at officers, which defends the conduct. Challenges the characterization loses because DHS states the threat warranted the shooting.
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Was ICE justified in shooting Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins in Glen Burnie, Maryland?
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