PHOENIX — A large police presence and investigation involving federal officials caused a traffic slowdown along Interstate 17 in north Phoenix early Wednesday morning.
Before 4:30 a.m., first responders started gathering on the freeway near the Dove Valley Road exit.
Video from the scene showed a large traffic backup amid the police presence on the off-ramp.
According to Department of Homeland Security officials, ICE officers attempted a traffic stop in the area on a vehicle around 4 a.m.
The driver, identified as Jose Garcia-Sorto of Honduras, initially stopped but then started to drive away.
Officials say an officer was in the path of the vehicle and fired his weapon two times, hitting the vehicle.
The driver was injured in the shooting and taken to a hospital in stable condition.
The officer who fired the weapon at the driver was also taken to a hospital for evaluation.
As part of HSI’s statement to the media, they said, “These are the consequences of conduct and rhetoric by dishonest politicians who spew misinformation and activists who urge illegal aliens to resist arrest. Resisting arrest puts the safety of illegal aliens, law enforcement, and the public at risk. Our law enforcement officers are facing a more than 1000% increase in assaults against them including vehicle rammings by illegal aliens. We are once again calling on sanctuary politicians, agitators, and the media to turn the temperature down and stop calling for violence and resistance against ICE law enforcement.”
The founder of community outreach organization, People First Project, Clarissa Vela tells ABC15, “For them to attack local organizations like mine or community activists, community volunteers, that is just a gross, gross misinformation of what it is exactly that we do."
The People First Project responds to fires, floods and other emergencies and has often found itself monitoring ICE activity in Valley communities. Just last week Vela was used to help negotiate during an FBI standoff in Avondale.
She says she and her team are trained in de-escalation and are looking for more volunteers to receive the training as well. Anyone interested in volunteering or donating can visit www.peoplefirstproject.org or call (888) 354-4594.
The organization is just one of the local advocacy groups that is stepping in to support the family after the shooting.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Sources originally told ABC15 that an individual involved in a shooting with ICE had died. Officials have since clarified that an individual was injured and was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
The FBI Phoenix Office provided the following statement regarding their involvement:
FBI Phoenix was on the scene at the I-17 and Dove Valley Road in the north Valley and has opened an Assault on a Federal Officer (AFO) case following this morning’s attempted vehicle stop by ICE officers.
Following the AFO investigation, the results will be turned over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office – District of Arizona, for a charging decision. The FBI was not part of the initial ICE law enforcement activity this morning.
DPS provided the following statement regarding their involvement:
Around 4:30 this morning, The Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) learned of an officer involved shooting involving federal law enforcement officers in the area of I-17 and Dove Valley Road. AZDPS was requested to close the northbound exit ramp at Dove Valley Road, while federal authorities investigated. State Troopers established a temporary closure, until members of the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) arrived around 5:30 to set up an extended closure.
This was the second of two shootings involving law enforcement in the Valley early Wednesday morning. An earlier shooting incident in Mesa resulted in one person dead and an officer hospitalized.
