Federal immigration agent kills Colombian father in Biddeford shooting

The Maine attorney general’s office said a federal immigration agent shot and killed Joan Sebastian Guerrero just after 7 a.m. Monday near Hill and Pool streets in downtown Biddeford after Guerrero drove in the direction of the officer while trying to flee.

ICE publicly addressed the shooting nearly 12 hours later, issuing a statement Monday evening around 7 p.m. Biddeford police said their role was limited to providing security at the scene, and the Maine attorney general’s office said the agent involved has been placed on leave. No one has publicly identified the officer.

Guerrero was identified by a neighbor and immigrant-advocacy groups as a 26-year-old father from Colombia. Advocates said he was authorized to work in the United States and had been issued a Social Security number. A witness said Guerrero’s young daughter was at the scene in Bluey pajamas after the shooting.

Officials have said Guerrero was not the intended target of the warrant. One witness said he saw an SUV trying to ram a small white car at the intersection, then heard Guerrero say, “I tried to stop,” before he was pulled from the car. Another witness said Guerrero was bleeding profusely from the head.

The Biddeford shooting came during another fatal federal immigration encounter in Houston the previous week. In that case, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national, was killed during a traffic stop involving the wrong vehicle. Witnesses said agents were not wearing body cameras in either shooting.

Sen. Angus King said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him agents were trying to execute an arrest warrant based on another person’s immigration status. Rep. Chellie Pingree said she had learned little from federal agencies. The Maine attorney general’s office is investigating with help from local and state authorities, while hundreds of people later gathered in Biddeford for a vigil.