A U.S. Border Patrol agent opened fire in an apartment parking lot Wednesday during an operation in Willowbrook, a Los Angeles County community north of Compton. No one was shot, but chaos ensued as crowds gathered at the scene and protesters clashed with federal officers.
The shooting occurred around 7 a.m. near 126th Street and Mona Boulevard. Acting on a targeted operation originating in nearby Compton, federal agents attempted to arrest William Eduardo Moran Carballo, a 43-year-old El Salvadoran national alleged to be involved in a human smuggling operation and subject to a 2019 final order of removal.
"In a dangerous attempt to evade arrest, this criminal illegal alien weaponized his vehicle and rammed law enforcement," the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to ABC7. "Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired defensive shots. The criminal illegal alien was not hit and attempted to flee on foot. He was successfully apprehended by law enforcement. The illegal alien was not injured, but a CBP officer was injured."
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies and California Highway Patrol officers responded to secure the scene, and a crowd of residents and activists gathered nearby to protest.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who represents the area, criticized federal agents for what she called a “dangerous” interaction that put members of the public at risk.
“ICE officers have shot into another moving car. Our own local law enforcement is trained to never do this,” she said. “This is further proof ICE agents are undertrained and too dangerous to interact with the public.”
The incident comes amid heightened tensions over immigration enforcement, including recent clashes and legal challenges sparked by aggressive federal operations in other cities like Minneapolis. While the federal government has touted the removal of dangerous criminals who are in the country illegally, a study conducted by the conservative CATO Institute found that 73% of people detained by ICE as of October 2025 did not have a criminal conviction.