A man was shot in the elbow, and a deputy U.S. Marshal was hit in the hand by a ricochet bullet during an immigration enforcement operation in Los Angeles on the morning of Oct. 21, the Department of Homeland Security said.

The shooting occurred in downtown Los Angeles during what the DHS described as a "targeted traffic enforcement stop." Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the DHS, said the U.S. Marshals Service was assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducting a traffic stop of a man who had entered the country illegally.

McLaughlin, who noted that the investigation remains ongoing and information was preliminary, said federal immigration agents and the U.S. Marshals Service had pulled the man over using a "standard law enforcement procedure." The man then "weaponized his vehicle and began ramming the law enforcement vehicle in an attempt to flee," according to McLaughlin.

"Fearing for the safety of the public and law enforcement, our officers followed their training and fired defensive shots," McLaughlin said in a statement on X.

The man was shot in the elbow while attempting to flee from the scene, and the deputy U.S. Marshal was injured by a ricochet bullet, McLaughlin said. Both the deputy marshal and the suspect were transported to the hospital.

The DHS did not provide further details on what procedure ICE agents used or when the man entered the United States, but McLaughlin said he had previously escaped from custody and had attempted to evade arrest before.

Federal, local agencies investigating incident

The U.S. Marshals Service said in a statement that its Central District of California office was involved in a "line-of-duty shooting" on Oct. 21, in which a deputy marshal sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The deputy marshal was in stable condition, according to the agency.

The agency said it will not release the identities of the deputy marshals involved in shooting incidents "until the conclusion of all investigations surrounding the incident." The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Los Angeles Police Department are investigating the incident.

The FBI said in a statement that its Evidence Response Team was processing the scene. It added that it was working with the U.S. Marshals Service, Department of Homeland Security, and the LAPD.

FBI agents were not involved in the incident, according to the agency. Los Angeles police officers were providing outer perimeter traffic control, the FBI said.

Shooting comes amid tensions over federal immigration crackdown

The incident comes amid growing tensions in major U.S. cities over President Donald Trump's aggressive immigration crackdown. McLaughlin attributed the shooting to the "conduct and rhetoric by sanctuary politicians and activists who urge illegal aliens to resist arrest."

But activists and protesters have decried what they call heavy-handed policing in Democratic-run cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., and Portland, Oregon.

Los Angeles County has been at the epicenter of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. In June, Trump sent the National Guard and U.S. Marines into the city to protect federal buildings and protect ICE agents as they carried out raids, prompting widespread protests.

The protests in Los Angeles County began as a reaction to a handful of immigration raids, including one outside a Home Depot and another at a clothing manufacturer in the city's garment district. The raids and subsequent outrage came as the Trump administration stepped up its detention and deportation of immigrants, including at workplaces, traffic stops, and routine legal check-ins.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, one of the leading critics of Trump's immigration crackdown, signed legislation in September that would prevent ICE officers from wearing masks to hide their identities. Critics of mask-wearing say it stifles accountability.

White House officials previously said ICE agents have experienced an increase in assaults. Over the summer, videos circulating on social media showed increasingly violent confrontations between masked federal agents and civilians seeking to document or prevent arrests.

Following recent ICE attacks, including a deadly shooting at a facility in Dallas in September, the Department of Homeland Security announced plans to strengthen security at ICE facilities. The incidents have also raised security concerns for ICE agents, attorneys, judges, and migrants, USA TODAY previously reported.

Contributing: Christopher Cann and Lauren Villagran, USA TODAY; Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US Marshal and undocumented immigrant shot during ICE stop in Los Angeles, DHS says

Reporting by Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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