Employee of Aurora ICE Processing Center arrested, accused of shooting Colorado protester
ICE Center Worker Faces Charges After Shooting Colorado Demonstrator
Employee of Aurora ICE Processing Center - A 42-year-old staff member connected to the GEO Group, which manages a federal immigration detention facility in Aurora, Colorado, has been taken into custody following an evening shooting incident. According to local law enforcement, the individual wounded a female protester on Thursday night in the vicinity of the Aurora ICE Processing Center located at 3130 Oakland Street.
Details of the Incident
Brandon Booth, the employee in question, now confronts multiple legal charges including assault and attempted second-degree murder. Authorities reported that Booth was apprehended inside a car situated on Nome Street, merely two blocks from where the confrontation occurred. Police noted that a firearm was discovered within the vehicle during the arrest.
The Aurora Police Department confirmed Booth's employment with GEO Group. Local officials characterized the injured party as someone participating in demonstrations against the facility. Throughout the current year, multiple organizations have organized protests outside the detention center at various intervals. At this time, investigators have not determined which specific group the victim may have been affiliated with.
"Two women initiated a verbal confrontation and took pictures of the employees' vehicles before walking away," police stated in a social media update. "At that point, Booth retrieved his personally owned pistol and fired a single shot in their direction, striking one of the women on her lower body. Booth then got into his vehicle and drove out of the area before he was detained."
Medical personnel described the victim's wounds as non-life-threatening. She remains unidentified as of the latest reports. The shooting transpired while Booth and several fellow employees waited in their car, unable to enter the facility for their scheduled work shifts due to ongoing demonstrations.
Organizational and Community Response
A representative for GEO Group issued a statement confirming awareness of the situation involving their off-duty employee. "This individual has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, and we will fully cooperate with law enforcement," the spokesperson explained. CBS Colorado also contacted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, seeking additional commentary.
On Friday morning, immigration advocates and community supporters assembled at the Attorney General's headquarters. They requested that the official impose penalties on GEO Group regarding their handling of a confirmed tuberculosis case at the facility. News of the shooting reached these advocates during their gathering.
"This really put into perspective what it could look like. When you just have agencies that don't really have people who have the capacity, emotional capacity to run these jobs," said Andrea Loya, executive director of Casa de Paz, which assists individuals released from the Aurora detention center.
Loya emphasized that while no Casa de Paz personnel were present during the shooting, the event remains troubling. She noted that the incident prompts numerous questions about hiring practices and how employees manage human lives within the system.
Official Statements and Related Incidents
Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain characterized the shooting as a "tragedy on all fronts." He pledged that his department would investigate with the same dedication to transparency and integrity applied to all shooting cases. "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," he declared.
Investigators are requesting that anyone with video footage or relevant information contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867).
This event follows two fatal shootings by ICE officers within a ten-day span. On July 7, a 52-year-old Mexican national was killed by an ICE officer in Houston, Texas, while driving a work crew to a construction site. ICE subsequently acknowledged that the victim was not the intended target of their enforcement operation. Six days later, on July 13, a 25-year-old Colombian man died after being shot by an ICE officer in Biddeford, Maine. DHS revealed that this second shooting also occurred during surveillance of a different individual.
Following these incidents, the Department of Homeland Security temporarily suspended most ICE traffic stops. However, President Trump reversed this decision on Wednesday, allowing operations to resume normally.