BLACK FOREST, Colo. (KOAA) — A suspect has been arrested and a second is still at large after they allegedly attempted to ram into ICE agents Thursday.
According to ICE, Francisco Zapata-Pacheco was arrested around 2 p.m. Thursday. ICE says he was the passenger in the vehicle when the two allegedly attempted to ram into agents.
Zapata-Pacheco remains in ICE custody pending the immigration and criminal proceedings.
The second suspect, Jose Mendez-Chavez from Mexico, remains at-large. ICE says Mendez-Chavez has been convicted of the following:
- child abuse
- domestic violence
- illegal reentry on six occasions
Previous Coverage
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office has lifted a shelter-in-place order for residents along Burgess Road in the Black Forest area around 6:15 p.m. Thursday.
The order was issued for the quarter-mile radius around Burgess Road between Windmill Road and Greentree Road.
We now have more information from the Department of Homeland Security on what led to the large response.
An ICE spokesperson says that agents attempted to arrest two individuals, later identified as Zapata-Pacheco and Mendez-Chavez, who they say were in the country illegally. Zapata-Pacheco and Mendez-Chavez allegedly attempted to use their vehicle to ram into ICE agents.
Officers fired three shots into the vehicle before Zapata-Pacheco and Mendez-Chavez fled and later abandoned it along Burgess Road, where the shelter-in-place remains. You can read the ICE statement below.:
Two criminal aliens attempted to ram their vehicle into ICE officers during a targeted enforcement operation in Colorado Springs, Colorado, July 31. As a result of their violent actions and to protect the officers and agents onsite, an officer fired three shots into the vehicle. The aliens fled and later abandoned the vehicle. Law enforcement officials are currently searching for the fugitives.
ICE officers are facing an 830% increase in assaults. Lies and violent rhetoric incites hostility against the brave men and women of ICE who put their lives on the line every day to protect American communities, as we witnessed in Colorado today.
No injuries are reported at this time. The investigation is ongoing.
Our crews on scene have said the law enforcement presence along Burgess Road has continued to grow and first reported around a dozen agents on scene; now, a group of around 30 have arrived.
Our newsroom confirmed with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office that they are aware federal agents are at a second scene in the Sterling Ranch development. ICE has not confirmed if this is where the two Zapata-Pacheco and Mendez-Chavez attempted to ram ICE agents.
A News5 viewer shared images of that scene with our newsroom, in what appears to be a new housing development near Aspen Valley Road and Poco Road, just east of Vollmer Road.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is shared with our newsroom.
Editor's Note: An original version of this article stated "two illegal aliens" in the headline; this was incorrect. ICE stated, "two criminal aliens."
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