Federal agents seen on video breaking a car window in San Bernardino said the driver refused to exit the vehicle and attempted to run them over, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to NBC4 Los Angeles.
The department also said the “subject remains at large.”
The encounter, captured on cellphone video from inside the truck, shows masked U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents surrounding the vehicle. One of the agents is seen wearing a CBP hat.
At one point, the video shows an agent shattering the driver’s side window. Moments later, the passenger-side window is also broken. The driver then hits the gas, and as the truck speeds away, three loud pops can be heard.
DHS confirmed Sunday that those sounds were gunshots.
A department spokesperson said in a statement that the person “drove directly at the officers, striking two with his vehicle.” In response, the CBP was forced to discharge his firearm in self-defense, according to the agency.
The family told NBC4 the agents from unmarked vehicles surrounded its truck in the area of Acacia Avenue and Baseline Street Saturday morning as it was returning home from work.
The family said the masked men did not identify themselves and did not provide any judicial warrants. The DHS did not say whether the agents had warrants.
The bullet holes on the side of the truck as well as shattered windows provided a glimpse into the altercation.
“I had to protect my life and my family,” the driver, who identified himself as Francisco, told NBC Los Angeles. “My truck was shot three times.”
Following the incident, San Bernardino police and federal agents went to the driver’s home, where they clashed with community members gathered outside.
DHS said the driver was briefly taken into custody by San Bernardino police and later released.
However, the San Bernardino Police Department told NBC4 it had no record of any arrests or detentions related to the incident.
DHS did not comment on why the driver was initially stopped, nor confirmed what charges, if any, the driver faces.
They also didn’t specify the injuries of the two federal officers.