After a San Bernardino family said it narrowly escaped a shooting by masked men who may be immigration officials, authorities Saturday confirmed a shooting occurred between the family and federal agents.
The family, who declined to identify itself out of the concern for safety, said the men coming out of unmarked vehicles tried to stop the family truck as it was returning home from work Saturday morning in the area of Acacia Avenue and Baseline Street.
But when the family refused to comply, some of the men opened fire on the truck three times and shattered the car windows, the family claimed.
The masked men did not identify themselves and did not provide any judicial warrants, the family said as the truck was occupied by the family’s father, son and son-in-law.
The car still had bullet holes on the side as well as broken windows by Saturday afternoon.
While the cellphone video the family shared with NBC Los Angeles captured the men, with at least one of them wearing a CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) hat, the footage did not show how the group of men stopped the family or did not demonstrate why or how it was pulled over.
The San Bernardino Police Department confirmed the shooting, saying officers responded to the area after receiving reports of shots being fired. The responding officers were told by federal agents that there was indeed an officer shooting, and that the “involved suspect had fled the scene in the vehicle,” according to San Bernardino police.
The family said it was able to safely get away from the men and called San Bernardino police to file a police report, which prompted San Bernardino police officers to respond to the 1000 block of Mt. View Drive and locate the vehicle.
Following the altercation, dozens of community members as well as federal agents with the Homeland Security Investigations vests gathered outside the home.
At least one person was arrested for assaulting a federal officer, San Bernardino police said.
While the police department is not allowed to cooperate with the federal investigation due to California’s sanctuary status, it provided support for the non-immigration-related arrest, the police department added.
NBC Los Angeles reached out to the Department of Homeland Security to confirm whether its agents were conducting an operation.
Source: NBC Los Angeles
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