An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot 25-year-old Carlos Jimenez, a U.S. citizen and father of three, during a quiet morning in Ontario, California. According to his lawyers, Jimenez had only stopped his car to warn the agents that schoolchildren would soon gather nearby for their morning bus.
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The incident took place last Thursday on Vineyard Avenue in Ontario, near a mobile home park where Jimenez lived. He was on his way to work at a local food bank when he noticed several federal officers stopping another vehicle on the roadside. Concerned about the safety of nearby children, Jimenez reportedly pulled over and told the officers that students would soon be waiting for the school bus at that very spot.
His lawyers said that shortly after he spoke to the officers, one of them pulled out a gun and shot him from behind as he tried to leave the area. The bullet struck his right shoulder and remains lodged inside.
Federal authorities, however, have given a different version of the story. They claim that Jimenez tried to reverse his car toward the officers in a threatening way, forcing them to fire in self-defense.
Conflicting Stories Surround Ontario Shooting
The Department of Homeland Security’s spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, stated that Jimenez “attempted to run officers over by reversing directly at them without stopping,” and that the shots fired were defensive. After the incident in Ontario, federal prosecutors charged Jimenez in court with assaulting a federal officer. A judge later released him on bond on Friday.
However, Jimenez’s lawyers insist that the officers overreacted and violated their own use-of-force policies. They said the officers frightened Jimenez when they drew their weapons, and he reversed his car only to escape what he believed was a dangerous situation.
According to attorney Robert Simon, “The agents’ actions were unreasonably aggressive.” Another attorney, Cynthia Santiago, explained that Jimenez simply wanted to alert the officers about the children who would soon gather there. She said, “He told them, ‘Excuse me, can you please wrap this up?’ Immediately, one of the masked agents pulled out a gun and began shaking his pepper spray.”
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She added that the officers’ vehicles had blocked part of the road in Ontario, leaving Jimenez with little room to move. “He had to reverse to get away,” she said. “Then there was a shot from the side, through the back passenger window, hitting him.”
Jimenez’s lawyers said that deadly force should be used only as a last resort, especially in community areas like Ontario, where families and children are present.
So far, no video footage of the Ontario incident has been released publicly.
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Court documents filed in the Central District of California describe the federal agents’ version of events. The report says Carlos Jimenez approached three officers — two from Border Patrol and one from ICE — and got into a brief argument. One agent, identified as “E.O.,” told him to leave, then holstered his gun and took out pepper spray.
According to the complaint, Jimenez moved his Lexus forward, stopped, turned the wheels, and then reversed quickly toward a Border Patrol agent and a nearby Honda that had three passengers inside. The agents said they fired to stop him from hitting the officer or the vehicle.
This marks the second ICE-involved shooting in Southern California, including Ontario, in just over a week. In another case in South Los Angeles, ICE agents shot Carlitos Ricardo Parias in the elbow after claiming he tried to ram their vehicles. A deputy marshal was also injured by a ricocheted bullet.
Officials argue these incidents show the dangers ICE officers face daily, but community advocates in Ontario and nearby areas disagree, saying such aggressive tactics endanger residents. Attorney Cynthia Santiago said, “Our communities are not training grounds. They are places where families and children should feel safe.”
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Similar ICE and Border Patrol shootings have occurred recently in Chicago, San Bernardino, and other cities, raising public scrutiny over federal enforcement in residential areas like Ontario. Jimenez, still recovering from his shoulder wound, faces legal charges as investigations continue into whether the shooting was self-defense or excessive force.
The Ontario case continues to fuel national debate over how far federal agencies should go when enforcing immigration laws near homes, schools, and workplaces. For the residents of Ontario, California, the event has left many shaken, wondering how a simple warning about schoolchildren could end with gunfire on a quiet suburban street.