Dramatic dashcam video shows an alleged gang member who “weaponized his vehicle” as ICE agents opened fire in a wild Northern California confrontation.
In the clips, agents can be seen pointing their weapons at the suspect as he appears to try to drive at them. Soon after, he is seen fleeing the scene as the agents give chase.
The ICE agents were conducting a targeted vehicle stop to arrest 18th Street Gang member Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, who is wanted in El Salvador in connection to a murder, according to authorities.
Dashcam footage shows officers surrounding the vehicle in Patterson, Northern California. Storyful
Footage shows ICE officers approaching Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez with their weapons drawn. Storyful
Hernandez reverses his vehicle and crashes its side door into a truck. Storyful
The suspect flees the scene by driving into oncoming traffic. Storyful
The agents give chase after Hernandez weaponized his vehicle. StoryfulTodd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, said in a statement that Hernandez tried to run the agents down as they moved to take him into custody.
“As officers approached the car, the wanted gang member weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run an officer over,” Lyons said, adding, “Following their training, our officers fired defensive shots to protect themselves, their fellow agents, and the public.”
The incident occurred on Del Puerto Canyon Road near Interstate 5 in Patterson.
Hernandez was taken to a local hospital, Lyons said. Federal agents on the scene are investigating the incident, and the FBI has been called in to assist. His condition is currently unknown.
The 18th Street Gang, also known as Barrio 18, is a gigantic and extremely violent transnational criminal organization founded in Los Angeles in the 1960s more than 50,000 members across the US, Mexico, and Central America.
Known for murder and extortion, 18th Street is closely allied with the Mexican Mafia and controls a large portion of the narcotics trade in Los Angeles and around the country.
The gang has been a target for ICE agents and local police alike.
Los Angeles Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in February orchestrated a massive takedown of the 18th Street gang’s leadership in LA, where it is known as the largest street gang in the city.
Operation Dead Horse resulted more than a dozen arrests for racketeering, murder, and drug trafficking. The operation aimed to dismantle the gang’s control over a portion of MacArthur Park.
During the investigation, federal and local law enforcement seized more than 175 pounds of methamphetamine and fentanyl from 18th Street members and associates.
On the last day of the operation, March 6, officers seized $80,000 in cash, 10 pounds of fentanyl, five pounds of methamphetamine, and six firearms.
ICE agents in California in recent weeks have made a number of gang related arrests.
Federal immigration agents in San Diego last month captured a machete-wielding MS-13 executioner known as “the witch” who was wanted for a brutal gang murder in his home country of El Salvador.
David Antonio Aviles Perez, 35, had been sought on an international warrant for aggravated murder by authorities in El Salvador.
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