Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers shot a man in Patterson on Tuesday morning, describing him as a wanted gang member who tried to run over an officer during a traffic stop. The subject was taken to a Modesto hospital, and as of early afternoon there was no information on his condition.

A statement from ICE identified Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez as “an 18th Street Gang member wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection to a murder.” The 18th Street Gang is Los Angeles’ largest street gang, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Patrick Kolasinski, a Modesto-based immigration attorney representing Hernandez’s family, said that the man is in stable condition at Doctors Medical Center and that the family denies all allegations that Hernandez was affiliated with gangs.

“The biggest thing the family wants to get out right now is that he is not a gang member,” the attorney told The Modesto Bee. “He is a family man engaged to a U.S. citizen with a 2-year-old U.S. citizen daughter who was on his way to work in the Bay Area.”

Protest outside Modesto medical center, at Patterson meeting

By 8 p.m. Tuesday, more than a dozen people had gathered on a street corner outside Doctors Medical Center in Modesto to protest the shooting and show support for the injured man being treated there. Four members of the group were from Patterson, they told a Bee reporter. Though they did not know Hernandez, they had seen social media posts from residents describing him as not a gangster but a four-year resident of their community on his way to work in San Jose. “We want to take their word for it vs. the Department of Homeland Security because they aren’t always truthful,” Emilio Gallegos said. Video evidence from the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis showed that the federal officials’ immediate statements in the wake of that event were dishonest, he said.

Having seen video of Tuesday’s shooting posted online, Gallegos said it looked to him like Hernandez was trying to escape from the agents, not hurt them.

At the Patterson City Council meeting, five people used the public-comment period to address the shooting.

Patterson resident RJ Castro told councilmembers, “Until somebody gets angry and upset, nothing’s going to happen. This is going to happen in small towns. This is just going to be swept under the rug.”

Castro urged the city to do something to make ensure ICE can’t come to Patterson. The mayor responded that Patterson Police Services is part of the Sheriff’s Office so he would need to speak with the sheriff about that.

Nora Zaragoza-Yáñez, Valley Watch Network program manager for the advocacy group Faith in the Valley, said the group has been in contact with Hernandez’s family and cautioned accepting the narrative given by ICE. “Aside from the simple fact that he is a Salvadoran national, he has no gang affiliation here nor in El Salvador,” she said.

She also said Hernandez was shot in the arm and the wound is not life-threatening.

From the acting ICE director

ICE was conducting a targeted vehicle stop to arrest Hernandez when, “as officers approached the car, the wanted gang member weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run an officer over,” says the statement by acting ICE Director Todd Lyons. “Following their training, our officers fired defensive shots to protect themselves, their fellow agents, and the public. The illegal alien was taken to a local hospital.”

A twice-delayed news conference by the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI was held at about 3:40 p.m. and lasted three minutes. Sheriff Jeff Dirkse said that at about 6:30 a.m., dispatchers received a report from ICE about the shooting. He said that because no local law enforcement was involved in the incident, the FBI is the investigating agency.

Eugene Wu, acting special agent in charge of the case, said the FBI Sacramento office is conducting a “thorough, methodical” investigation of the events leading up to the shooting. He said the FBI welcomes any video or other information regarding the case. To share information, the public is asked to call 800-CALL-FBI or go to tips.fbi.gov.

The news conference provided no information about Hernandez, including his medical condition.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said he was briefed on the shooting. He provided a brief response: “As is established practice, we expect our federal law enforcement partners to appropriately collaborate with state and local law enforcement as this matter is investigated.”

House Rep. Adam Gray said he’s been in contact with local law enforcement. “I have been in touch with Sheriff Dirkse and the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office,” he said in a statement, “and will continue to monitor the situation as we work to learn more about what happened.”

The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office was assisting at the scene of the shooting, near Sperry Avenue and Interstate 5. It’s not clear when the shooting occurred, but the Sheriff’s Office first posted about it on social media at 8:31 a.m. “At this time, we can confirm that no local law enforcement was involved in the incident. The suspect was transported to a local hospital for further medical attention,” a later Sheriff’s Office post reads.

Law enforcement closed the on and off ramps for I-5 near Sperry, the Sheriff’s Office posted on social media.

The Sheriff’s Office warned that “there will be road closures and a large law enforcement presence” at least through the end of day, causing significant traffic delays.”

Authorities instructed people to avoid the area until further notice, and to plan for alternate routes.

Members of the press gathered at Rogers Road and Sperry Avenue. The investigation appears focused farther west, in the area of Del Puerto Canyon Road and the California Aqueduct. Several black SUVs were on scene, and the FBI had at least four personnel — members of its evidence response team — involved. No one was clearly identifiable as being with ICE.

Officials at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto were restricting media access and said a statement would be forthcoming.

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Attorney for family of man shot by ICE in Patterson says he’s alive and ‘stable’

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