By Zoe Sottile, Sarah Dewberry<\/p>\n
(CNN) \u2014 <\/b>Department of Homeland Security agents were shot at during an immigration enforcement operation in Chicago Saturday, the agency said \u2014 as federal agents were also accused of using pepper spray and flash-bang grenades against protesters across the Chicago area.<\/p>\n
The incidents come as Chicago has emerged as the center of tense standoffs between federal agents carrying out immigration enforcement operations and frustrated and angry community members<\/a> protesting the Trump administration\u2019s wide-ranging deportation campaign. A federal judge issued a ruling Friday<\/a> limiting federal agents\u2019 use of force in Chicago, after they repeatedly used tear gas and other forms of force against protesters.<\/p>\n The shooting took place in Chicago\u2019s Little Village neighborhood Saturday morning, according to DHS<\/a>. A male driving a \u201cblack Jeep\u201d opened fire at Border Patrol agents, then fled the scene, said the agency. A suspect from Mexico was arrested in connection with the shooting, DHS said in a post on X <\/a>Monday.<\/p>\n DHS has framed the incidents as part of a series of attacks they say target federal agents<\/a>. \u201cThe violence in Chicago against law enforcement is unprecedented,\u201d said Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement shared with CNN. \u201cThese attacks are the consequence of vitriolic smears from sanctuary politicians and the media.\u201d<\/p>\n But immigrant advocates, local politicians, and legal groups said it is federal agents<\/a> who are driving violence and chaos against angry but peaceful protesters and bystanders.<\/p>\n \u201cYesterday was a day of terror,\u201d said Alderman Mike Rodriguez, who says he witnessed flash grenades detonated in the street. \u201cIt follows an agenda of terror by this president.\u201d<\/p>\n Several DHS statements about its immigration crackdown in Chicago \u2014 \u201cOperation Midway Blitz\u201d \u2014 have later been contradicted<\/a> by local officials, a civil rights attorney and a legal filing, fueling mounting skepticism of the agency\u2019s claims. In Friday\u2019s ruling, a federal judge said Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino<\/a> \u201cadmitted that he lied\u201d when he claimed he threw tear gas at protesters after a rock was thrown near his head, and said video disproved his account.<\/p>\n The government\u2019s evidence was \u201csimply not credible\u201d and its portrayal of Chicago \u201cuntrue,\u201d US District Judge Sara Ellis<\/a> said.<\/p>\n The Trump administration filed a notice Sunday appealing<\/a> Ellis\u2019 order<\/a> limiting the use of force by federal agents involved in the Chicago immigration crackdown. The court document did not include the grounds for appeal.<\/p>\n It is not immediately clear when the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals will take up the case.<\/p>\n The National Lawyers Guild Chicago said nine people in all were arrested and taken into federal custody Saturday. DHS says Border Patrol arrested eight US citizens and one \u201cillegal alien.\u201d<\/p>\n Agents shot at by driver, DHS says<\/p>\n Border Patrol agents were \u201caccosted by a hostile crowd\u201d while conducting an immigration enforcement operation around 9:30 a.m. Saturday near 26th Street and Kedzie Avenue, DHS said<\/a>. The crowd \u201cboxed them into a street and alleyway,\u201d the agency said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs they were apprehending a subject, agents came under direct gunfire when a male driving a black Jeep Wrangler fired multiple rounds,\u201d reads DHS\u2019 statement. \u201cHe immediately fled the scene.\u201d<\/p>\n There were no reports of anyone struck by gunfire, according to the Chicago Police Department, which responded to help secure the scene.<\/p>\n Bovino didn\u2019t name the suspect in an interview on Fox News Monday but described him as an \u201cillegal alien\u201d with a previous firearms conviction. CNN has reached out to DHS for more information. The FBI told CNN it does not comment on \u201cpotential investigative matters.\u201d<\/p>\n After the incident, \u201can unknown number of agitators also threw a paint can and bricks at Border Patrol\u2019s vehicles,\u201d according to DHS. The agency said no Border Patrol agents were injured in the incident.<\/p>\n Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said at a Monday news conference he had heard about the shooting. He said Bovino and federal agents \u201chave absolutely no credibility because of the repeated lies, both to the courts and to the public, so we have no way to verify the reports,\u201d but that federal authorities were investigating.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile I do not welcome federal agents operating in this capacity, I unequivocally condemn violence directed at them,\u201d the mayor said in a post on X.<\/a><\/p>\n After leaving the scene of the shooting, Border Patrol agents \u201cencountered a vehicle that attempted to ram their convoy\u201d and <\/strong>deployed a \u201cControlled Tire Deflation Device,\u201d DHS said. Another driver was arrested after attempting to ram the convoy as agents proceeded toward an FBI facility, according to DHS.<\/p>\n Flash bangs deployed in Little Village<\/p>\n Then the Border Patrol agents \u201cencountered protesters lying in the street near 26th and Pulaski,\u201d according to DHS. The agency said the \u201crioters refused to comply with basic instructions and began throwing objects\u201d and agents used \u201ccrowd control measures.\u201d<\/p>\n Matt DeMateo, a pastor at New Life Community Church, said he was driving at the intersection of 26th Avenue and Pulaski Road when he saw federal agents exit their vehicles, \u201cguns drawn.\u201d He says he didn\u2019t hear \u201cany warning\u201d before flash-bang grenades were deployed.<\/p>\n Videos from the scene taken around 11:10 a.m. show what appear to be agents in tactical gear exiting their vehicles in the street. Another video shows people standing around a white vehicle, some seemingly filming with their phones.<\/p>\n A passenger in the white vehicle is seen in the video tossing an object out of the window. A loud bang sounds and smoke explodes, scattering bystanders as the vehicle starts to drive away. One person is seen in the video throwing something at the vehicle.<\/p>\n