New York man shot in face after interrupting ICE arrest

A man in Brooklyn was shot in the face by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent while attempting to interrupt a deportation arrest Thursday morning.

The incident happened around 8:15 a.m. in the Gravesend neighborhood, ABC 7 reports.

ICE agents were attempting serve a deportation order to Gaspar Avendano Hernandez, when his girlfriend’s son, Eric Diaz, intervened. 

Avendano Hernandez had been pulled over by the NYPD for driving with a forged Connecticut license plate earlier in the week. The agency reportedly began steps to deport him once they learned of the incident.

The 26-year-old Diaz was shot in the face while Avendano Hernandez was tased. The two men were taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, according to the station. Both are reportedly in ICE custody.

Kevin Yanez Cruz, Diaz’s brother, told the affiliate that the ICE agents didn’t identify themselves or show an arrest warrant, which caused Diaz to intervene the way that he did.

“He pointed the gun at my brother and didn’t even hesitate and pulled the trigger,” Cruz said, adding that his brother was tackled before he was shot.

The NYPD was reportedly not directly involved with the operation, though the department was contacted about it by ICE agents.

In a statement, ICE said: “A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Fugitive Operations Team discharged at least one firearm in Brooklyn, New York, Thursday morning when officers were physically attacked while attempting to arrest Gasper Avendando-Hernandez, a twice-removed illegal alien from Mexico with a 2011 assault conviction in New York City.”

The statement also said that two ICE agents were taken to a local hospital for minor injuries and that the altercation is being “investigated by the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility.”