DHS says agents were ‘boxed in by 10 cars’ outside Chicago, fired defensive shots at armed driver

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: The Department of Homeland Security says federal agents on a routine patrol on Saturday, October 4, found themselves boxed in and under fire in Broadview, a suburb west of the city, in what officials are calling a “coordinated attack.”

According to DHS, it all started when agents were cornered by a convoy of ten vehicles in the Broadview area.

The armed driver and the intelligence bulletin warning

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin posted on X (formerly Twitter), “This morning, during routine patrolling in Broadview, in the same area of Chicago that law enforcement were assaulted yesterday, our brave law enforcement officers were rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars.”

When agents tried to maneuver out, they found themselves stuck. “Agents were unable to move their vehicles and exited the car,” McLaughlin said. That’s when things went from bad to worse. “One of the drivers who rammed the law enforcement vehicle was armed with a semi-automatic weapon.”

McLaughlin said that when the armed suspect confronted them, “law enforcement was forced to deploy their weapons and fire defensive shots.”

According to the department, the gunfire wounded a woman who drove herself to a hospital before being treated for her injuries. “Law enforcement was forced to deploy their weapons and fire defensive shots at an armed US citizen who drove herself to the hospital to get care for wounds,” McLaughlin revealed.

But McLaughlin said the woman, identified later as Marimar Martinez, wasn’t some random attacker. She had allegedly been named in a Customs and Border Protection intelligence bulletin just last week “for doxxing agents” and calling for people to “f**k those mother f**kers up.”

“Thankfully, no law enforcement officers were seriously injured in this attack,” McLaughlin said, adding that the woman is now in FBI custody after being discharged from the hospital.

Two in custody, feds on high alert

DHS also said another person, Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, was “involved in the ramming” and is now in law enforcement custody. However, it’s not yet clear whether either suspect has been formally charged or if they have legal representation.

The US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois confirmed that “two people have been taken into custody in connection” with the incident. 

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem also put out a statement. “Today in Chicago, members of our brave law enforcement were attacked—rammed and boxed in by ten vehicles, including an attacker with a semi-automatic weapon,” she posted on X. “I am deploying more special operations to control the scene. Reinforcements are on their way.”

Over at the White House, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller branded the incident “domestic terrorism and seditious insurrection.”

Tensions boiling over in Chicago amid immigration crackdown

It's worth noting that Chicago has been heating up for days, thanks to “The Midway Blitz Operation,” a large-scale immigration enforcement campaign launched by DHS that’s been sparking protests across the city.

Demonstrators have zeroed in on the Broadview ICE facility, where Noem was spotted on the rooftop on Friday, surrounded by armed agents and a camera crew, per CNN affiliate WLS.

Just 24 hours later, federal agents were allegedly attacked in the same area.

The escalating chaos has left local leaders fuming. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker blasted the Donald Trump administration’s move to federalize “roughly 300 members of the Illinois National Guard” to send to Chicago following the attack.

Pritzker said the move came after DHS had already requested “roughly 100 military personnel” from the Department of War to help secure ICE agents and facilities.