A man was killed Monday in a shooting involving agents of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), identified by rights organisations as a 26-year-old Colombian national, in an incident likely to intensify criticism of the deportation campaign being carried out by the Donald Trump administration.
The shooting occurred in Biddeford, a town of 22,000 residents in the state of Maine in northern United States, one week after a Mexican man was shot dead by an ICE agent in Texas.
The Maine Attorney General's office announced that an ICE agent was "executing an operation related to a final deportation order when the targeted individual attempted to flee in a vehicle towards him, resulting in the individual being shot and sustaining fatal injuries."
It added that the agent would be placed on administrative leave in accordance with standard protocol following officer-involved shootings. The FBI had earlier announced that it was also conducting an investigation into the incident.
An ICE spokesperson said Monday that agents attempted to stop a vehicle at around 7:00 a.m. (11:00 GMT) Monday, following surveillance of the last known address of a person subject to a deportation order.
He added that "the vehicle attempted to flee the scene and out of concern for public safety, one agent discharged his weapon, striking the driver of the vehicle. Emergency services were immediately contacted, however he died of his wounds."
Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau wrote on Facebook: "There was a shooting this morning in Biddeford. A person was killed. ICE was involved in the incident."
Maine Governor Janet Mills said state police were working with federal officials to determine the circumstances of what happened.
An eyewitness named Lucas Scott told local media that he heard at least 4 gunshots after seeing a number of ICE agents surrounding a white car on Monday morning.
The Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition and Presente Maine, which jointly identified the victim as a 26-year-old Colombian national without disclosing his name, said the man held a work permit in the United States.
Presente Maine Executive Director Crystal Cron said: "We will not allow this death to be reduced to a footnote in this administration's immigration enforcement statistics."
Maine Senator Angus King told reporters that, based on a conversation with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, he understood that the victim had been subject to an ICE arrest warrant related to his legal status in the country.
King called for a "full, transparent, and public investigation," but said the agents involved in the incident did not appear to have been wearing body cameras.
Images from the scene showed a security perimeter on a residential street, with a forensic unit positioned beside a red tent.
Anti-ICE protesters also gathered in the area, carrying signs calling for the agency to leave.
Biddeford Mayor Liam LaFountain said in a statement: "A person has been killed, and their loved ones and members of our community deserve clear answers about what happened."
He added: "I recognise the scale of fear and uncertainty that an incident of this severity has caused in our city."
Armed ICE agents, tasked with carrying out Trump's mass deportation campaign, have faced widespread criticism across the country over their use of force, as well as over the killing of 2 American citizens by their gunfire this year in Minneapolis.