ICE shoots alleged gang member near California's I-5 freeway

PATTERSON, Calif. - Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on Tuesday shot a man they described as an alleged gang member wanted for questioning in connection to a murder in Patterson, Calif., leading to the partial closure of the I-5 freeway in Stanislaus County. 

Alleged gang member

What we know:

In a statement, ICE Director Todd Lyons identified the man the officers shot as Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, an "18th Street" gang member wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection to a murder.

Lyons did not state when the murder occurred or who was killed, and a spokesman for the agency did not return comment seeking those details. 

The shooting occurred about 6:30 a.m. just off Interstate Highway 5 at Sperry Avenue. 

18th Street Gang

The US Department of Justice considers the 18th Street gang Los Angeles's largest street gang, with members hailing from the United States, Mexico and Central America. 

As officers approached the car, Hernandez "weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run an officer over," according to Lyons.

ICE officers "fired defensive shots to protect themselves, their fellow agents, and the public," Lyons said. 

Hernandez was taken to the hospital.

Lyons said the operation to find Hernandez was targeted. 

‘Caring father’

Hernandez's attorney, Patrick Kolasinski, told the Associated Press and KCRA that "Mr. Hernandez is not, and has never been a gang member, and is instead a caring father who was on his way to work when he was stopped."

The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook that no local law enforcement was involved in the incident. 

I-5 partially closed

Following the shooting, the on and off ramps on I-5 and Sperry Avenue were closed, and were expected to be closed for the remainder of the day. 

The area is near Love's truck stop, where a woman there declined to comment. There are also several gas stations and fast food restaurants nearby. 

Patterson is located in the Central Valley, 30 miles southeast of Tracy, and is known as the "Apricot Capital of the World." 

The scene

Aerial images of the scene showed several officials, some wearing cowboy hats, standing by cars cordoned off with crime scene tape under the overpass. 

FBI agents were also spotted on scene, where the focus appeared to be on a black four-door car with major signs of damage and several bullet holes on the windshield. 

Minneapolis

Big picture view:

While the situations are unrelated, ICE officers shot and killed two American citizens – Renee Good and Alex Pretti — in Minneapolis in January, sparking widespread protests across the country. 

In both those cases, then-Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described the citizens as being aggressive "domestic terrorists," which turned out, according to video and eyewitnesses, not to be true. 

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