FRANKLIN PARK, Ill. (WLS) — An Illinois congressman is among those urging federal officials to release all video related to the deadly incident involving an ICE officer in the west suburbs.
The shooting happened in Franklin Park on Friday.
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A spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stated that officers were conducting “targeted law enforcement activity.” During a vehicle stop, a man, identified as a suspect by ICE, resisted arrest and attempted to drive his car into the arresting officers.
The man struck and dragged an officer as he tried to escape, according to ICE. In response, the officer shot the man, later identified as Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez. The Department of Homeland Security referred to him as an undocumented immigrant with a prior record of reckless driving.
ICE said the man was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The officer suffered severe injuries and is stable, ICE and DHS said.
Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García says all video of the incident should be released.
“We want to fully understand the incident and have all evidence made public so the public can draw its own conclusions. This was completely avoidable, unnecessary, and tragic,” said García.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has also called for transparency in the investigation into the shooting.
ABC7 reached out to ICE for comment and to see if the officers involved were wearing cameras, but has not yet heard back yet.
Villegas-Gonzalez’s family informed ABC7 that he was a father from Mexico, employed at a restaurant in the Portage Park area, and had resided in the U.S. for decades. The shooting has sparked widespread outrage.
This fatal encounter has occurred as ICE operations have intensified in the Chicago area in recent weeks. Approximately 300 ICE agents are stationed just north of the city.
To the man’s girlfriend and stepdaughter, Villegas-Gonzalez was a working 38-year-old father of three from Mexico who’s lived in the United States for more than 20 years.
Cellphone video obtained by ABC 7 showed the moment with ICE officers removed the man from his crashed car near Grand and Elder Lane.
“He got a hole on his head and bleeding, so both men, they tried to help and cover with a band-aid, his neck,” witness Victoria Connolly said.
Congressman García spoke at the scene Friday with other politicians, shortly after flying from the nation’s capital.
“Look, without a doubt, there’s massive racial, ethnic profiling that’s taking place and it’s shameful,” García said.
Governor Pritzker posted a statement to X Friday, saying, “I am aware of the troubling incident that has unfolded in Franklin Park. This is a developing situation and the people of Illinois deserve a full, factual accounting of what’s happened today to ensure transparency and accountability.”
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