Police in Washington state say an armed man who was throwing “incendiary devices” at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement migrant detention center early Saturday morning is dead, according to multiple reports.
“Tacoma Police responded to the Northwest Detention Center, a privately run detention facility that holds migrants, at about 4 a.m. on Saturday after an employee called about an armed man outside,” The Daily Beast reported.
Police say the man, whose identity had not been released as of Saturday afternoon, was armed with a rifle. According to The News Tribune, he threw “the incendiary devices at outbuildings and cars in the center’s parking lot. One car caught fire and burned.”
He reportedly tried to blow up a propane tank as well.
Police spokesperson Loretta Cool told The Associated Press that four male officers, none of whom were wearing body cameras, fired shots at the man prior to taking cover, though it wasn’t clear if he fired back.
Eventually, police found the man dead.
The News Tribune reported that police had killed the man, though The Daily Beast noted it was not yet clear whether it was he or one of the officers, all of whom have been placed on paid administrative leave, who fired the fatal shot.
The incident is under investigation and the man’s alleged motives have not yet been revealed as of Saturday afternoon.
But aside from the alleged perpetrator, no one appears to have been hurt.
“No ICE employees were harmed nor involved in this tragic event,” a spokesperson for ICE told The Daily Beast.
None of the police officers involved were injured either.
“The shooting took place about six hours after a peaceful rally [protesting President Donald Trump’s immigration policies] in front of the detention center,” the AP noted, citing Cool.
Photos posted on Facebook showed that activists with the anti-Trump group “Lights for Liberty” were demonstrating next to the detention center on Friday.
“[Cool] said another rally was planned for later Saturday, but it would have to be held in a different area because of the investigation into the police shooting,” the AP added.
The detention center in question is run by GEO Group, which, in a statement to the AP, cited accusations of poor migrant treatment at the facility.
These accusations “have led to misplaced aggression and a dangerous environment for our employees, whose safety is our top priority,” the statement said.
“Violence of any kind against our employees and property will not be tolerated. We are thankful for the quick and brave action by the Tacoma Police Department, which prevented innocent lives from being endangered.”
Via WesternJournal
