ICE agents shoot and wound man during traffic stop in Central California

By Lauren Mascarenhas, Danya Gainor, Taylor Galgano, CNN

(CNN) — As a man remains hospitalized after being shot by ICE agents during a traffic stop in Central California Tuesday, his lawyer is pushing back against the agency’s claims that the man is a gang member wanted in El Salvador in connection with a murder after initially saying the family believed it was likely a case of mistaken identity.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said the ICE officers fired defensive shots Tuesday after the person they stopped attempted to run an agent over, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security.

The shooting happened near Interstate 5 in Patterson, about 90 miles south of Sacramento.

DHS identified the person shot as Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, an undocumented immigrant and “18th Street Gang member wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection to a murder.”

But “from everything we can find, he was not” a gang member, his attorney, Patrick Kolasinski, said in a news conference. Mendoza Hernandez, 36, is the father of a toddler and engaged to a US citizen and was on his way to work when he was shot, the attorney said.

“Initially when I was asked, I said we thought it may have been a mistaken identity,” Kolasinski said in the news conference. “This morning, we received a little bit of information from El Salvador that he had had a criminal encounter in El Salvador where he had been accused of murder and he was acquitted.”

As a result, he said, “they cannot possibly have a warrant out for his arrest in (El) Salvador. That is a complete misstatement.”

Kolasinski said an attorney has been retained in El Salvador to investigate allegations that Mendoza Hernandez is wanted for questioning and “to verify finally, and clearly that there is no such order.”

Mendoza Hernandez’s fiancée, Cindy, was able to speak to him Wednesday evening for the first time in an “emotional conversation,” according to Kolasinski. He was in stable condition and going in for surgery at the time of the call.

She previously said their daughter – who will turn 2 this summer – couldn’t sleep Tuesday night as her father remained hospitalized.

Mendoza Hernandez was stopped by police for a broken windshield on Friday, Cindy said during a presser on Wednesday. She declined to give her last name for privacy reasons.

He was on his way to the Bay Area, where he works doing labor and rehabilitation of buildings, when the agents stopped him, Kolasinski said.

ICE says its agents were following training. However, Kolasinski said, “If that’s the case, then ICE’s own training puts their officers in danger, puts the community in danger and the people they’re trying to detain in danger.”

Two dashcam videos obtained by CNN show a car crossing over the highway lane divider after being surrounded by agents. One agent is seen running out of the way of the car. It’s not clear exactly when agents fired at the vehicle because the footage does not have sound.

“As officers approached the car, the wanted gang member weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run an officer over. Following their training, our officers fired defensive shots to protect themselves, their fellow agents, and the public,” the DHS statement said.

DHS says its agents have been the target of increasing violence, citing more than 180 vehicle attacks since Trump’s second term started. But the administration’s initial accounts of shootings involving federal agents have, in some cases, changed over time – or been proven wrong altogether.

The FBI said it is leading the investigation. The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office told CNN its agency is assisting, and confirmed no local law enforcement was involved with the incident.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom urged federal law enforcement to collaborate with state and local partners in investigating Tuesday’s shooting.

“As is established practice, we expect our federal law enforcement partners to appropriately collaborate with state and local law enforcement as this matter is investigated,” Newsom’s office said on X.

Dashcam footage captures incident

At least three law enforcement agents are seen surrounding a black vehicle on a road near Interstate 5, video obtained by CNN shows. The black vehicle then backs up and its passenger-side door hits another car on the road.

Agents then point their guns at the vehicle as it stops for about two seconds. The car then moves forward and veers left while a federal agent runs out of the way, and it ambles over the highway lane divider. Two hubcaps can be seen bouncing off the tires and rolling away as the vehicle crosses the oncoming lanes. The video ends before the car comes to a complete stop.

Christina Valencia, whose Tesla captured one of the videos obtained by CNN, said she noticed the flashing lights from her car.

“All of a sudden I heard like a shot fired … and then maybe like 10 seconds later, I heard about five or six more go off,” she said.

She said she believes an agent first fired after the car reversed, but before it started to drive over the lane divider.

After the car started to drive toward the lane divider, that’s when she said she heard about five or six shots.

It is unclear from the silent video when exactly agents fired at the vehicle. CNN cannot independently confirm Valencia’s account of the gunfire.

From there, the two agents ran to their trucks and drove in the direction of the suspect, she said. They ultimately ended up under a nearby overpass.

When the shots started, Valencia said she put her car in reverse. “I was scared because I was like, there’s nowhere for me to go,” she said.

Credibility of DHS accounts questioned in prior car-involved incidents

While agents have been subjected to violence since the start of Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration last year, DHS has also at times faced a crisis of credibility regarding claims it has made in the aftermath of some high-profile incidents. In arrests and use-of-force encounters across the country, versions provided by DHS of some events have been contradicted by eyewitness accounts and bystander video and challenged by independent judges.

Altercations in or around vehicles have been a feature of the administration’s immigration crackdown, including car crashes between federal agents and people who try to flee, traffic stops turned violent and alleged rammings involving pro-immigrant activists.

The phrase “weaponized his/her vehicle” has been repeated by officials including former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem when she described Renee Good, a Minneapolis mother, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent this year, prompting widespread outrage.

The Trump administration has also come under criticism for deporting migrants it alleges are gang members without providing evidence, such as Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The administration accused wrongly deported Abrego Garcia of being an active member of MS-13 – a claim his lawyer and family deny. Abrego Garcia is currently fighting deportation in federal court.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Caroll Alvarado, Melissa Gray and Jada Furlow contributed to this report.