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It’s been just over 24 hours since the fatal shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Biddeford.
The small city on the Saco River is still reeling from Monday morning’s violence, which has renewed calls for ICE to end its operations here and even seems poised to figure prominently in the race to replace Democrat Graham Platner on the November ballot for U.S. Senate. It’s fueled protests as far away as Bangor.
Details have been rolling in piecemeal since Monday morning, and the Bangor Daily News is working to verify the veracity of information circulating on the internet.
As we continue that work, here’s a rundown of what we know so far.
When and where did the shooting happen?
Official statements and witness testimony put the time of the shooting between 7 and 7:20 a.m. It happened at the intersection of Pool and Hill streets, not far from the Biddeford police station.
Who was the victim?
Johan Sebastián Duran Guerrero, a 26-year-old immigrant from Colombia. He leaves behind a wife and a young daughter.
What was his immigration status?
Guerrero had legal permission to work in the United States and had been issued a Social Security number, according to the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and Presente! Maine, which put out a joint statement after his death.
In a Monday evening statement, ICE claimed that Guerrero was in the U.S. illegally and had a final order for removal.
That’s also what Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told U.S. Sen. Angus King on Monday morning. But Mullin later informed the independent Maine senator that Guerrero was not the target of the agents’ administrative warrant.
Who was ICE actually targeting?
We don’t know yet.
How many shots were fired?
Witness testimony and videos suggest four or five shots were fired at Guerrero. Mullin initially claimed that Guerrero had “weaponized” his vehicle when confronted by ICE agents. But on Monday evening, ICE said that he had “attempted to flee.”
That’s raising questions about any legal justification for the shooting, with King telling CNN that the law requires officers to reasonably fear for their safety before using deadly force and “So far we haven’t seen evidence of that.”
Notably, none of the ICE agents involved had a body camera, meaning there’s no direct video showing what happened between them and Guerrero before the shooting.
Outgoing U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine’s 2nd District, called on Homeland Security to prioritize equipping ICE agents with body cameras, for which Congress has already approved funding. Mullin told King on Monday that cameras have been ordered and distributed among agents in other parts of the country but not here.
Who fired the fatal shot?
While it’s common for state, county and local police here to publicly identify officers who use deadly force, federal officials haven’t made that officer’s identity public. All we know is that the agent was affiliated with ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division and has been placed on administrative leave. Photos and videos of at least two or three men wearing green ICE vests have circulated online, but it’s not known which of them shot Guerrero.
What agencies are involved in the investigation?
Several agencies are involved in some capacity in this investigation.
— FBI
— U.S. Department of Homeland Security
— Homeland Security inspector general’s office
— Maine attorney general’s office
— Maine Department of Public Safety
— Maine State Police
— Maine medical examiner’s office
— Biddeford Police Department
— Saco Police Department
Since the shooting involved a federal agent, state and local agencies are assisting and not taking the lead here.
While not directly involved, the Colombian embassy is in close contact with Guerrero’s family and monitoring the investigation.
How many fatal ICE shootings have there been?
This may be at least the 11th fatal shooting involving ICE agents since President Donald Trump’s second inauguration. Monday’s killing came less than a week after the shooting death of 52-year-old Lorenzo Araujo, a construction worker, in Houston.
That doesn’t include deaths of those in the agency’s custody. As of July 6, at least 21 people have died in immigration detention centers in 2026, on top of 33 who died last year, according to the National Immigration Project.
What is ICE doing in Maine?
Earlier this year, Maine became the latest state to see a surge in ICE agents as part of the Trump administration’s Operation Catch of the Day. That surge was cut short amid a nationwide pushback against the agency’s tactics following the fatal shootings of two protesters in Minneapolis.
Of the nearly 200 detained in Maine during the January ICE surge, only 11 had criminal convictions, undercutting the Trump administration’s claim that it was targeting the “worst of the worst.”
Although that enforcement surge ended just days after it began, the agency has continued to conduct removal operations in Maine, albeit on a smaller scale.
Correction: An earlier version of this report misspelled Johan Sebastián Duran Guerrero’s name.