DHS's McLaughlin says Serrano-Esquivel "was a passenger in one of the ICE vehicles that was rammed" and the driver "weaponized his vehicles"
Tricia McLaughlinAssistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
McLaughlin said the man DHS had first described as the van's passenger "was a passenger in one of the ICE vehicles that was rammed", and repeated that the driver "weaponized his vehicles" and drove "directly at ICE officers" before officers "defensively fired their service weapons".
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.
“Solomon Antonio Serrano-Esquivel, an illegal alien from El Salvador, was a passenger in one of the ICE vehicles that was rammed. ... The driver refused and attempted to flee, then weaponized his vehicles and began ramming his van into several ICE vehicles. He then drove his van directly at ICE officers, it appeared he was trying to run them over. Fearing for their lives and public safety, defensively fired their service weapons, striking the driver.”
Reporting
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Was ICE justified in shooting Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins in Glen Burnie, Maryland?
On December 24, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers stopped a white work van driven by Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins in Glen Burnie, Maryland, and fired at it, wounding him. The Department of Homeland Security said that day that he refused to turn off the engine, rammed ICE vehicles and drove directly at officers, and that they fired defensively; it also said a passenger in his van was injured. On January 8, 2026, Anne Arundel County police said the injured passenger was already in custody in an ICE vehicle, and DHS then said he was in one of the ICE vehicles. An FBI affidavit says two ICE officers fired, one about one to two shots and the other multiple shots, and attributes to them accounts that the van moved toward officers at speed and that one believed he would be struck, while Sousa-Martins told the FBI he drove away because he believed he would be shot. He pleaded guilty on April 27 to destroying government property, and a count of resisting or interfering with federal officers was dismissed. The dispute is whether the officers' decision to fire was warranted by the threat they faced, and whether DHS's account of the encounter was accurate.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Reports the January 8 police statement and prints DHS's response in full. The page was posted on January 8 and updated on January 12. Other outlets reported the DHS response on January 9.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
Reports the DHS statement to WTOP on Friday, January 9 and compares it with DHS's December 24 post and the county police clarification.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Anne Arundel County police had said on January 8 that Serrano-Esquivel was already in custody in an ICE vehicle.
After the quotation
DHS's first statement on December 24 had described Serrano-Esquivel as a passenger in the driver's van.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the officers' decision to fire and DHS's account of it. McLaughlin revises where the passenger was but repeats that the driver drove at officers and that they fired defensively, so the statement still defends the shooting. Mixed or conditional loses because the revision does not qualify the defense of the shooting itself.
- Recorded on
- Published here
More from this case
Read the full caseAttorney Alice Barrett says ICE's use of lethal force against Sousa-Martins "was excessive and dangerous"
“This plea agreement and the hearing at which he was sentenced don't change anything about the bottom line of his case, which is that ICE's use of lethal force against him was excessive and dangerous”Read statement
Magistrate Judge Austin says the court has "some skepticism about some of what the government has presented"
“The court has some skepticism about some of what the government has presented based on some individuals who have not been identified or appeared in court ... This would not be the first case where an affidavit was found not to adequately capture the circumstances”Read statement
Van Hollen says "DHS lied about the circumstances surrounding a nonfatal shooting" in Maryland
“In my State of Maryland, DHS lied about the circumstances surrounding a nonfatal shooting, and they were exposed in their lies because of a local county investigation that showed that DHS was plain wrong.”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- DHS's McLaughlin says Serrano-Esquivel "was a passenger in one of the ICE vehicles that was rammed" and the driver "weaponized his vehicles"
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/2577-mclaughlin-said-the-man-dhs-had-first-described
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "DHS's McLaughlin says Serrano-Esquivel "was a passenger in one of the ICE vehicles that was rammed" and the driver "weaponized his vehicles"". First published: 2026-09-25. Last updated: 2026-09-25. https://disputeindex.com/events/2577-mclaughlin-said-the-man-dhs-had-first-described