Fox News reported that the Washington state Police stated that an armed man was shot and killed on Saturday after trying to attack a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center.
The unidentified man appeared outside of the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma with a rifle and threw incendiary devices at both the facility and nearby propane tanks, also setting one vehicle on fire, The Seattle Times reported.
Police officers responded to the attack around 4 a.m. and called out to the attacker before shots were fired. It was not clear whether the suspect fired at police or how many shots were fired.
Police spokesman Loretta Cool stated that the officers were not wearing body cams, but the area is covered by surveillance cameras from the detention center. Four officers were involved in the incident and were placed on administrative leave in accordance with the department’s policy. None of them were injured.
ICE said in a statement that no employees “were harmed nor involved in this tragic incident.”
The attack took place just few hours after a rally in front of the detention center, protesting planned mass deportation raids around scheduled to begin on Sunday. The Tacoma facility, which is run by the Department of Homeland Security, holds immigrants pending deportation proceedings. The detention center has also held immigration-seeking parents separated from their children under President Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy, an effort meant to deter illegal immigration.
The Trump administration’s child separation policy was the subject of a contentious Congressional hearing this Friday, during which former ICE director Tom Homan defended law enforcement amid criticism from Democratic politicians.
“As a 34-year veteran of law enforcement, it is shocking, shocking to see constant attacks against those that leave the safety and security of their homes every day, put on a Kevlar vest and put a gun on their hip and risk their own safety to defend this nation,” he said, at times appearing to get choked up as he defended his former colleagues.
