A 26-year-old Colombian national was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday, July 13, 2026. The incident, which occurred during an enforcement operation, is currently under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, the FBI, and the Maine attorney general’s office.
Contradictory Accounts of the Biddeford Shooting
The circumstances surrounding the death of the 26-year-old man remain a subject of intense scrutiny and conflicting official statements. According to a post on X by the Department of Homeland Security, agents were surveilling an address in Biddeford for an individual with a final order of removal. When officials attempted to stop a vehicle leaving that location, the department stated that the vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon.
However, Maine Sen. Angus King reported a different version of events provided to him by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
“Did this young man actually try to run over an ICE agent or was he in danger of running over other people in the street? Was there a reasonable expectation of bodily harm or deadly force to justify this shooting?”
Sen. Angus King, independent senator from Maine
King later noted that Mullin clarified that the initial information identifying the victim as the primary target of the enforcement action was incorrect; the agents were in the area to serve an arrest warrant, but not for the man who was shot.
Witness Observations and Video Evidence
Local residents near the intersection of Pool and Hill streets described a chaotic scene. Daniel Boucher, who witnessed the encounter from his third-floor window, reported hearing a pop, pop, pop
before seeing a car turned at a 90-degree angle to the curb.
For more on this story, see ICE Agent Fatally Shoots Colombian Man In Maine.
Another resident, Em Akerley, told BostonGlobe.com that she heard six or seven gunshots, noting that she did not hear any commands shouted prior to the shooting. A nearby resident, Brinkman, described hearing a woman—later identified as the victim’s wife—screaming Mi amor, mi amor
as neighbors attempted to prevent her from entering the street.
Advocacy and Official Investigations
The Colombian Embassy has confirmed it is in contact with U.S. authorities and is providing the necessary consular assistance to his family.
Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General is coordinating with the FBI to conduct an investigation. Simultaneously, the Maine attorney general’s office is reviewing the event, and the officer involved in the shooting has been placed on leave.
Stakes for Federal Oversight
The absence of body cameras on the agents involved, as confirmed by Sen. King, has intensified calls for transparency. The discrepancy between the official DHS statement—which focuses on the driver fleeing—and the initial claims regarding the vehicle being used as a weapon highlights the reliance on internal investigations to resolve the narrative.
The outcome of the Inspector General’s investigation will likely determine whether the use of force met the threshold for reasonable suspicion of bodily harm, a standard currently at the center of the dispute between lawmakers and federal immigration enforcement.
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