U.S. Citizen Shot by ICE Near School Bus Stop Suing Federal Government for $25 Million

A U.S. citizen who was shot by an immigration officer in Southern California is suing the federal government for $25 million.

According to a Monday, November 9 report from The Guardian, Carlos Jimenez, a father of three from Ontario, just east of Los Angeles, was on his way to work at a food pantry on October 30, 2025, when he drove by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents carrying out an operation.

As it was around 7 a.m., and school was gearing up to start, Jimenez decided to approach the officers “calmly and slowly” to inform them that children in the neighborhood would soon be arriving at a bordering school bus stop, according to his complaint filed in federal court on Friday, November 6, and obtained by the outlet.

That’s when, per the complaint — which cited audio recorded by the officer’s radio — Jimenez says an ICE officer, later identified as Eusebio Ortiz, pointed his firearm at his face, cursed at him and threatened to shoot Jimenez if he did not leave the area.

According to the lawsuit, Jimenez complied with the officers’ orders and attempted to make a three-point turn to leave the area, but his path was blocked by ICE vehicles. Without warning, Ortiz then allegedly opened fire on the car, shooting Jimenez in the back and right shoulder.

There was no officer in Jimenez’s path when he was shot, the complaint notes, and no reasonable suspicion or probable cause to stop, threaten or shoot him.

Afterward, FBI agents followed Jimenez to a hospital, where he claims, per the suit, that they “interfered with his medical care”, pulling a nurse away and preventing him from talking to medical staff.

The complaint further alleges that FBI agents removed Jimenez from his hospital bed, placed him in a waist restraint and took him back to the scene of the shooting for an “interrogation,” all while a bullet was still lodged in his body. As Jimenez bled and vomited inside the agents’ van, officers allegedly told him not to “ruin their vehicle,” according to the lawsuit.

The Department of Homeland Security told a different story, however, with a spokesperson saying at the time, per The Guardian, that Jimenez had “attempted to run officers over by reversing directly at them without stopping” and that the officer fired “defensive” shots.

The Department of Justice, for its part, charged Jimenez with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon, with the federal criminal complaint alleging that Jimenez had “rapidly accelerated in reverse” toward the officer.

Jimenez, meanwhile, described the criminal charges as “fabricated” in his lawsuit, accusing the agents of wrongfully shooting and arresting him, as well as subjecting him to “malicious prosecution.”

And it appears a judge agreed with him, formally dismissing the charges against Jimenez last week. Prosecutors were previously planning to resolve the case through a diversion program, which would allow the charges to be dropped if Jimenez met certain conditions.

Meanwhile, Jimenez’s defense attorneys had sought access to officers’ text messages, prompting a judge to order the government to turn over records of agents’ communications in May. The lawsuit also alleges the FBI fabricated witness statements, claiming two neighbors said Jimenez had room to pull forward rather than reverse. However, both neighbors allegedly denied making those statements when interviewed by Jimenez’s legal team. The suit further alleges prosecutors pursued the diversion agreement to avoid disclosing the communications and allowing the FBI agent accused of fabricating witness statements to be deposed.

Jimenez is seeking more than $25 million in damages, accusing the ICE and FBI agents involved of excessive force, assault, false arrest and other violations. Jimenez’s lawsuit also notes that bullet fragments remain lodged near his lung.

Both DHS and the FBI, meanwhile, have declined to comment on the lawsuit.