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Dashcam shows ICE shooting, car reversing
Dashcam footage, provided by a driver named Christina, shows ICE officers surrounding the vehicle with their weapons drawn. The vehicle reverses and crashes its side door into a truck. An officer then holds his pistol at the window of the vehicle as it zips forward into a median and moves onto the opposite side of the divided highway. Via Storyful
PATTERSON, Calif. - A new witness officially came forward on Friday with dashcam footage that may provide a critical look into the recent shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Patterson, Calif., and raises questions about early-morning gunfire in the middle of civilian traffic.
Witness account
What they're saying:
Attorney Roberto Serrato, representing a woman who wants to be identified only as Christina, said in a statement that his client saw officers firing into a car on Tuesday morning off I-5 and Sperry Avenue, before the driver of the car reversed and then made a hard U-turn to get away.
She retained him because the FBI plans to interview her about what she saw.
"She's cooperating fully. She feels a moral obligation," Serrato said on Friday. "She has nothing in the game. She's just here to be a good citizen. Just like we all should be."
Her account, which she documented in part on her dashcam, is similar to what the attorney for Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez told his attorney on Thursday from the hospital, where he was shot at least six times by ICE officers, who said that he "weaponized" his car against them.
Hers is taken from the vantage point behind a white Tesla, and is the second dashcam video to be made widely public in this case.
Visual evidence hard to decipher
What we don't know:
There is no sound on either of the dashcam videos, and neither shows who fired shots first.
What both videos show is Hernandez trying to evade officers. His lawyer said he did so because ICE fired first and Hernandez drove away in fear.
ICE has said in statements that they wanted to question the 36-year-old Hernandez in connection with a murder in El Salvador, though specifics on that case weren't made clear.
Hernandez, who does not have legal status in the United States, was acquitted of murder in El Salvador in 2019. It's not completely clear that ICE's desire to question him and that murder are related, as ICE has declined to answer that question specifically.
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Video shows moment ICE officer shoots suspect near California's I-5
Dashcam video obtained by KTVU shows the moments before and after an ICE agent shot someone in Patterson, Calif. on Tuesday.
Frantic scene
Dig deeper:
According to Serrato, Christina was on her way to work during her morning commute and has no connection to anyone involved in the shooting.
But she described a frantic scene that unfolded in the middle of traffic along a heavily used commercial strip of road with fast food restaurants and gas stations at about 6:30 a.m.
Christina reported seeing people —later identified as ICE agents—surrounding the driver-side window of a vehicle driven by Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez. According to her statement, she observed the officers appearing to strike the window of the car.
"All she knows is that there was a shot fired," he said. "And that's all she's going to be able to say. Then, he proceeded to try to leave the scene."
While stopped behind a white Tesla, Christina describes the following sequence of events: A single gunshot rang out. A car that later turned out to be Hernandez's began to back up. Multiple additional gunshots were fired in rapid succession.
Christina, through her lawyer, also reported seeing a firearm pointed in the direction of active traffic—directly toward where she and other commuters were stopped.
"She saw agents pointing their guns at people, random people, vehicles around there, including the Tesla in front of her, such that she ended up backing off because she was afraid herself," Serrato said.
Not wanting to get fired on herself, she said she backed up. That's when she saw Hernandez reverse and speed away from the agents.
"This is a civilian witness who was simply on her way to work and found herself in the middle of a very chaotic and dangerous situation," Serrato said.
DHS response
The Department of Homeland Security on Friday would not comment on the new witness statement, and would only send out the same statement it has done all week from Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, reiterating that Hernandez is an 18th Street gang member – which he denies – who is "wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection to a murder."
The statement also reiterated that officers fired once Hernandez "weaponized" his vehicle.
Hernandez's medical condition
What's next:
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Man shot by ICE in California tells attorney that officers fired first
Attorney Patrick Kolasinski said Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez said ICE officers shot at him before he drove away in Patterson, Calif.
Meanwhile, Hernandez's attorney, Patrick Kolasinski, said his client is not yet out of the ICE at a hospital in Modesto and he will possibly undergo a fourth surgery for his bullet wounds. At least one of the six bullets entered his face.
Similar to Christina's story, Kolasinski said that Hernandez told him from his hospital bed that he was on his way to work and wanted to stop for coffee when he saw lights behind him. He pulled over. Officers asked him for his driver's license, which he handed over. They then told him they were ICE officers and were going to take him into custody. He asked questions about that. He asked to call his wife.
"And the situation spiraled out of hand," Kolasinski said. "He wasn't doing what they asked for, just stepping out of the vehicle and surrender. He was simply saying he wanted to call his wife and then somebody shot at him."
Hernandez is not being detained as a suspect by the Department of Justice at this point, Kolasinski said, and whether he will be taken into custody at some point is still unclear.
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED: Kolasinki has set up a GoFundMe for Hernandez's family.