Federal immigration authorities involved in shooting in Maine

The incident took place in Biddeford, Maine.

Federal immigration authorities were involved in a fatal shooting in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday, according to the local elected leaders and multiple sources.

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said he was briefed on the incident by Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin. He said he was informed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were involved in the deadly shooting.

King said the man was fatally shot after federal agents tried to stop the vehicle he was driving.

"He was in a vehicle -- pulled out in the vehicle, and the term the secretary used was 'weaponized' the vehicle and was shot by an ICE agent," King told reporters Monday morning.

King told ABC News the man who was shot was not the target of the operation and that ICE agents had been given a final order for the man they were targeting to be removed from the country.

King previously said that Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him that the man was the intended target of the operation.

"Body cameras were not on the agents. So we have no video evidence of what occurred in this case," King said. "State and local officials, of course, are attending to it. The FBI will be leading the investigation because it was a federal operation."

The Maine Attorney General's Office also released a statement, confirming that the ICE operation on Monday morning was targeting a man related to a final order to remove him from the country.

The Attorney General's Office alleged, "the suspect attempted to flee in the vehicle in the direction of the officer and was fatally shot." "The male subject is not being named until positive identification is made and family members are notified," according to the statement from the state Attorney General's Office.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills said she was also briefed on the shooting and was informed that federal law enforcement was involved.

"I know situations like these are alarming and frightening," Mills said in a statement. "The Maine State Police are at the scene supporting and working cooperatively with the Attorney General's Office, Maine's Office of Chief Medical Examiner, and Federal officials to determine the facts of what occurred this morning."

Two Maine immigration advocacy groups -- Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition (MIRC) and the Presente! -- issued a joint statement, saying the individual who was killed was a 26-year-old Colombian man, who they claimed was authorized to work in the United States and had a Social Security number.

The groups called for a "prompt, independent, and transparent investigation." The groups also called for a full accounting of every agency and officer involved as well as the preservation of all body-camera footage, surveillance footage, and communications between the federal officials involved.

"ICE must not be allowed to investigate itself or control the public narrative surrounding a death in which its personnel or operations were involved," the groups said.

The FBI said the agency "responded to assist on-scene immediately following this morning's shooting incident in Biddeford, Maine. We have no additional comment at this time."

The Department of Homeland Security has not yet responded to ABC News' requests for comment.

A bystander video verified by ABC News showed what appeared to be federal immigration agents and uniformed law enforcement officers in the aftermath of the shooting performing first aid on an individual on the ground at an intersection.

A Ring camera video obtained by ABC News from a residence near the shooting scene captured the sound of what appeared to be at least five gunshots.

Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, said in a social media post that she is "aware of reports that someone was fatally shot in Biddeford this morning, and ICE may be involved."

She added, "My team and I are working to get more information and will share more as we learn it."

Em Akerley, who lives near the shooting scene, told ABC affiliate station WMTW, that she was inside her home having her morning coffee when she heard the gunshots.

"I thought it was a backfire, and then I kept hearing them," Akerley said. "I thought it was a drive-by shooting."

She said she looked out her window and saw a small white car being corralled by two men, who appeared to be trying to stop the vehicle from losing control in the intersection.

"All of a sudden, all of these plain-clothes vested men started running down the street, abandoning their cars," Akerley said.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to add Sen. King's recent comments saying the man was not the intended target of the operation.

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