Chicago police ordered to stand down as ICE agents were surrounded by agitators

Chicago police officers were ordered to withdraw from the scene of a violent confrontation involving federal agents on Saturday, after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in the city turned chaotic.

According to CWB Chicago, the incident began around 10:30 am when a woman called 911, reporting that an ICE agent had shot her in the 3900 block of South Kedzie Avenue. Chicago officers initially responded, but federal agents on scene said the woman was armed and part of a caravan attempting to obstruct ICE operations.

The woman, identified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as 32-year-old Marimar Martinez, suffered gunshot wounds to her legs, arm, and chest and was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital. DHS said Martinez “was armed with a semi-automatic weapon and has a history of doxxing federal agents.” The agency added that she “took defensive fire from CBP agents” and has since been released from the hospital and taken into FBI custody.

DHS also confirmed that another suspect, Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, was arrested after allegedly ramming a federal vehicle during the confrontation.

“As our ICE law enforcement was responding to the shooting, a domestic terrorist followed them and rammed their vehicle in an attempt to run them off the road. This individual has also been arrested and is in HSI custody,” DHS added.

Video circulating online reportedly shows an SUV repeatedly ramming the rear of an unmarked Border Patrol pickup truck as both vehicles traveled down Kedzie Avenue. The truck’s emergency lights were on as the SUV struck its bumper before forcing the pickup into a curb. An agent exited the truck and appeared to draw a firearm while a second federal vehicle arrived and rammed the SUV from behind.

It is unclear whether the footage is directly connected to the shooting incident or a separate encounter that occurred around the same time.

Radio transmissions from the Chicago Police Department appear to indicate that CPD Chief of Patrol Jon Hein ordered officers to leave the area following the confrontation.

“At about 11:30 am, a CPD supervisor in the Deering (9th) District instructed dispatchers to ‘clear up’  all of the city’s police units from the shooting investigation and turn the scene over to federal authorities," CWB Chicago reported. The supervisor said that the order was “per the chief.”

Later on, federal agents asked CPD for assistance. Units initially responded but, under supervisory orders, stopped a couple of blocks short of where agents were surrounded. Roughly five minutes later, they were told to leave.

“Just to confirm,” a dispatcher asked, “they were saying that they were being surrounded by that large crowd and they were requesting the police and we’re not sending?”

“Again, those are the orders we’re being given,” the supervisor responded.