Gravesend

ICE agent shoots Gravesend man in the face

February 6, 2020 Jaime Dejesus
ICE agents
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A man was shot this morning in Gravesend by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent while the agent was serving a deportation order.

According to a statement from ICE, its Fugitive Operations Team was, “attempting to arrest Gasper Avendando-Hernandez,” when the agent “discharged at least one firearm … when officers were physically attacked.” The shooting victim’s injuries are not life-threatening. 

According to ABC, the shooting occurred at around 8:15 a.m. on West 12th Street between Quentin Road and Highlawn Avenue. 

According to the New York Daily News, Avendando-Hernandez lived in the house with his girlfriend, whose sons Eric Diaz-Cruz, 26, and Kevin Yaniz, 19, got involved in the situation.

The News said that as ICE officers attempted to detain Avendando-Hernandez, they got into a scuffle with Diaz. The agent fired his gun, hitting 26-year-old Diaz in the face.

According to the Daily News, a video shows one of the brothers struggling with the two agents and cursing at them in Spanish, when an agent wearing a light grey hoodie and a hat zapped him with a taser as he was propped against a car.

Diaz was transported to Maimonides Medical Center for treatment and is expected to recover. 

Avendando-Hernandez had been arrested by the NYPD on Feb. 3, according to ICE, “for possession of a forged instrument, a felony criminal charge. ICE attempted to lodge an immigration detainer after his most recent arrest; however, [Avendando-Hernandez] was released from local custody before ICE could lodge a detainer. This forced ICE officers to locate him on the streets of New York rather than in the safe confines of a jail.

“Avendando-Hernandez is currently in ICE custody, along with one additional individual whose identity has not been released,” the statement from ICE continued, adding that two ICE officers were brought to a local hospital for treatment following the incident, which is under investigation by the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility.

ICE is still in Brooklyn, according to the Sunset Park ICE Watch, which wrote, “Immigration activists have photographed multiple vehicles affiliated with federal immigration authorities outside of Maimonides Hospital where a Brooklyn man is being treated after ICE officers shot him … Immigration activists are now on site monitoring the suspicious ICE activity.”

In addition, Bay Ridge for Social Justice announced an “emergency gathering HAPPENING NOW at Maimonides” via its Facebook page, noting that the victim of the shooting “remains in critical condition. … There are 7 ICE cars waiting for him here.”

The incident stirred the ire of Councilmember Justin Brannan, who tweeted, “So let me get this straight: ICE comes into Brooklyn like a bunch of cowboys, shoots a person in the face and then blames the NYPD, who had nothing to do with this?! Their recklessness has no place in this city. And for them to blame the NYPD is bullshit.”

In addition, La Colmema, a community-based organization working with day laborers, domestic workers, and other low-wage immigrant workers, issued a statement regarding the shooting. 

“News that ICE shot unarmed people is distressing and causing fear in our communities,” said Yesenia Mata, the group’s executive director. “Why are ICE agents resorting to force when they are the ones who are detaining and deporting fathers, mothers, sons, daughters who are in the country just to provide for their families? The public’s safety is a priority, but we demand answers from ICE. No one should be afraid to hear a knock at their door in the early hours of the morning and worry that not only they will be detained but also shot in the face.”

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6 Comments

  1. Do NOT resist arrest. You just may be shot. Do NOT come to USA illegally. That is a criminal act. Apply for citizenship like millions upon millions of people have. btw: Read the NEW YORK POST today (2/7/2020) – you might learn something. The policies of your incompetent idiot of a mayor has destroyed your dear communities. Wake up folks; it is the policies YOU support that destroy your cities. STOP VOTING FOR ANY “D”. Lawbreakers & border crossers are NOT following the law & they make your community unsafe & they should NOT be allowed to roam the streets. Join #WalkAway movement campaign.