An employee of the GEO Group, which operates a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainment center in Aurora, Colorado, was arrested after a shooting incident on Thursday night. The shooting took place near the Aurora ICE Processing Center at 3130 Oakland Street.
Brandon Booth, 42, faces charges of assault and attempted second-degree murder. Police arrested him in a vehicle on Nome Street, just two blocks from the shooting scene. A gun was found in the vehicle, according to police.
The Aurora Police Department identified the victim as a protester. Various groups have been protesting outside the facility periodically throughout the year. The specific group involved in this incident is not yet known.
Aurora police reported that Booth, waiting in his vehicle with other employees blocked from entering the facility due to the protest, was approached by two women. A verbal confrontation ensued, and the women took pictures of the employees’ vehicles before leaving. Booth then allegedly fired a single shot in their direction, striking one woman in her lower body. He left the scene in his vehicle before being detained.
The shooting victim’s injuries are non-life-threatening, but her identity has not been released.
“We are aware that an off-duty Aurora ICE Processing Center employee was involved in a shooting incident,” a GEO Group spokesperson stated. “This individual has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, and we will fully cooperate with law enforcement.”
Chief Todd Chamberlain of the Aurora Police Department described the incident as a “tragedy on all fronts.” He assured the public that the department would investigate the case with a commitment to transparency and integrity. “Violence of any kind will not be tolerated in Aurora. Constitutional rights are a pivotal part of a just society – violence is not,” Chamberlain emphasized.
Authorities urge anyone with footage or information regarding the shooting to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867).
This incident follows two fatal shootings by ICE officers in recent days. On July 7, an ICE officer in Houston, Texas, shot and killed a 52-year-old Mexican man while he was driving a work crew. ICE admitted the victim was not the intended target. On July 13, a 25-year-old Colombian man was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Biddeford, Maine, during an operation focused on another target.
In response to these incidents, DHS briefly paused most ICE traffic stops. However, this pause was overturned by President Trump on Wednesday.