An employee at a Colorado Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center allegedly shot a female protester Thursday night while trying to get to work.
Brandon Booth, 42, an employee of the GEO Group, which operates the Aurora ICE Processing Center in Colorado, was waiting in his car on a nearby street with other workers as a demonstration blocked their access to the facility, according to police.
Two female protesters reportedly instigated a verbal confrontation and took pictures of the detention center employees’ cars before walking away.
Booth then allegedly fired a single shot towards the direction of the two protesters, striking one of them on her lower body, before driving away from the scene.
He was arrested two blocks away and police believe the firearm used in the shooting was Booth’s personally owned pistol.
He was slapped with charges of assault and attempted second-degree murder in relation to the shooting near the detention center, CBS News reported.
One woman, who police described as a protester, suffered a gunshot wound to her lower body and is being treated at a local hospital.
“This is a tragedy on all fronts, and the Aurora Police Department will investigate this incident with the same commitment to transparency and integrity as we do all shootings,” Aurora Chief of Police Todd Chamberlain said.
“We remain committed to ensuring an ethical, thorough, objective, and comprehensive review of this case. Violence of any kind will not be tolerated in Aurora. Constitutional rights are a pivotal part of a just society – violence is not.”
The Aurora ICE Processing Facility, which is Colorado’s only operating ICE detention center, is a privately run, 1,500-bed facility center operated by the GEO Group.
In a brief statement, a GEO Group spokesperson said that the company was aware that an off-duty employee was “involved in a shooting incident.”
“This individual has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, and we will fully cooperate with law enforcement,” the statement added.
