Three Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were shot in an early morning operation Thursday while serving high-risk federal warrants to a home off South McDowell Boulevard, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The SWAT agents were with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations and were transported to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, agency spokeswoman Virginia Kice said.
One suspect was taken into custody, she said.
The warrants were served to a home in the 1300 block of McNeil Avenue, behind the Best Western Inn on East Washington Street and South McDowell Boulevard. Residents reported hearing gunfire around 4am and two helicopters in the area.
Kice said the Thursday raid was part of an ongoing, multi-agency criminal investigation.
At the Best Western, guests were told to stay in their rooms, although they were allowed to leave their rooms shortly after 6 a.m., according to the manager.
Several people were taken away in ambulances, and one was airlifted from the area.
"We'd always see undercovers (undercover agents) sitting outside," said Sadie Vega-Martinez, who lives in the area. "They brought several people out...but then they still wouldnt go in and used a megaphone in English and Spanish asking them to come out. They used chainsaws and things to get in... They were nice neighbors...never would have known!"
ICE is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s largest investigative unit that focuses on border control, customs, trade and immigration.
Check back later as we work to update this story. Did you see or hear this operation this morning?
