An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer and a Honduran national were injured following a shooting incident early Wednesday morning during a traffic stop near Phoenix, Arizona.
The incident unfolded at 4 a.m. along Interstate 17 in north Phoenix when ICE officers stopped Jose Garcia-Sorto’s vehicle.
Initially, Garcia-Sorto complied and pulled over, but as the officers approached, he attempted to drive off, according to FOX 10 Phoenix’s report.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that an ICE officer was hurt during the confrontation in Arizona.
The reasons for stopping Garcia-Sorto’s vehicle remain undisclosed.
“As the vehicle suddenly accelerated, an officer found himself directly in its path,” stated officials from the Department of Homeland Security. “Fearing for his safety, the officer fired his weapon twice at Garcia-Sorto’s vehicle.”
Garcia-Soto was taken to a hospital where he remains in stable condition, according to the report.
It is unclear why the ICE agents conducted the early morning traffic stop. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The officer who shot at Garcia-Sorto was also taken to the hospital, though their injuries and condition have not yet been made public.
Garcia-Sorto’s wife, Anahi, told local outlet Arizona’s Family her husband was on his way to work when the shooting occurred.
“He would get home and hug the [two] kids,” Anahi told the outlet. “And to see that he didn’t get here yesterday, it really hurts a lot, because I always wait for him here [at home].”
The suspect’s wife reportedly told a local outlet she and her husband are living in the country illegally.
She said she heard about the shooting after family members saw it on the news and officials have not given her information about the incident.
“They (law enforcement) don’t wanna say anything to me,” Anahi told the outlet. “They’re only saying that he’s in the hospital, but that he’s in there with a different name, and that they don’t want him to talk, and no one can visit him.”
The FBI is investigating the shooting, according to FOX 10.
Anahi allegedly admitted to Arizona’s Family that she and her husband are in the country illegally, but told the outlet she is praying for ICE.
“What they’re (ICE) doing is bad, but I don’t wish anything bad towards them, because I am not God to judge them,” Anahi said. “I pray for them.”
The outlet reported she will return to Honduras with her children if Garcia-Sorto is deported.
The northbound exit ramp at Dove Valley Road was closed during the investigation, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. It has since reopened.
DHS did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
