Black Lives Matter activists slammed an off-duty ICE officer after he fatally shooting a black man who opened fire in his Los Angeles apartment block ‘to celebrate the New Year’.
The shooting unfolded as the agent, who has not been publicly identified, encountered Keith Porter Jr, 43, wielding an assault rifle at the complex where they both live on New Year’s Eve.
He allegedly told Porter Jr to drop the weapon multiple times before officials say Porter Jr fired off three shots at him.
The agent then returned fire with his service weapon and fatally shot him, according to officials.
The killing sparked controversy from BLM supporters amid national scrutiny over the ICE shooting of protester Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on January 7.
Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin defended the off-duty ICE agent by claiming he believed Porter Jr was an ‘active shooter’, and said the agent was ‘protecting his community’ where he lived.
The agent immediately reported the incident to authorities after it happened, McLaughlin added, describing him as a ‘brave officer’ who was protecting other residents.
However, Porter Jr’s loved ones claim that he was only shooting his gun into the air to ‘celebrate the New Year’, and admitted that while it is illegal, it is common practice in their community.
Keith Porter Jr, 43, was fatally shot by an off-duty ICE officer on New Year’s Eve after he fired an assault weapon into the air to ‘celebrate the New Year’
Authorities say Porter Jr was firing his weapon into the air from his Los Angeles apartment complex (pictured) at 10:40pm which led the agent to believe he was an active shooter
At a vigil for Porter Jr, a supporter of the family, civil rights activist Najee Ali, told ABC7: ‘Yes, it was illegal, but at the end of the day it’s an American tradition.’
Porter Jr’s supporters are calling for the off-duty ICE officer to be publicly identified, arrested and charged.
Authorities have so far refused to do so, with the Los Angeles Police Department saying it is continuing to investigate the shooting.
No building security camera captured the shooting and there was no bodycam footage as the officer was off-duty at the time.
The LAPD added that the shooting occurred at around 10:40pm on New Year’s Eve, hours before fireworks are used to mark the occasion.
Jamal Tooson, an attorney for Porter Jr’s family, admitted at a press conference this week that the deceased acted illegally by opening fire – which can bring felony charges – but claimed that the ICE agent overreacted.
‘What should have been an arrest and possible citation has turned into a death sentence and potentially cold-blooded murder from an ICE agent who was not equipped to handle the situation,’ Tooson said.
Tooson said that multiple people fired guns from the apartment complex that night to ring in the New Year, but ‘only one was murdered’.
Supporters of Porter Jr are calling for the off-duty ICE officer who shot the 43-year-old to be publicly identified, arrested and charged, which has been resisted so far by authorities
Porter Jr’s mother and sister seen grieving at a vigil held for him
At the vigil, a supporter of the family, civil rights activist Najee Ali (right, seen with Porter Jr’s sister) said he acknowledged he was breaking the law by firing his weapon, but said ‘at the end of the day it’s an American tradition’
The attorney said he interviewed several witnesses, including one who heard someone demand that Porter ‘put down the rifle’, but claimed no one heard anyone identify themselves as law enforcement.
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office says it is reviewing Porter’s killing, however the LA Times notes that the office often takes years to determine deadly use of force incidents.
Under Los Angeles city law, LAPD officers are required to identify themselves in use of force cases, but there is no such law that would compel a federal agent under the Department of Homeland Security to do so.
The ICE agent’s status as a federal employee may complicate the investigation, local officials said, because the LAPD does not have the same powers as if the agent was an LAPD officer.
Caleb Mason, a former federal prosecutor who is now a partner with Werksman Jackson & Quinn in Los Angeles, told the LA Times that investigators are limited, as they do not ‘have the ability to compel a federal agent to answer questions, nor to grant some kind of immunity’.
‘They could convene a grand jury and subpoena the person to come to the grand jury, that person could then invoke their 5th Amendment rights,’ Mason said.
The shooting remains under investigation, however no building security camera captured the shooting, and because the ICE agent was off-duty there is no bodycam footage
Judy Vaughan, an 80-year-old attendee at Porter Jr’s vigil, said she wanted to pay her respects because ‘his life was valuable, his life mattered’
At the vigil, Porter Jr’s sister Chanita Fata told ABC7 that her family were devastated by the shooting, and said she blamed the ICE agent who, ‘took our loved one… you murdered our loved one and it’s not fair’.
‘We are hurt, lost, that was my brother, he was my life, he was our family’s life,’ she said.
Vigil attendee Judy Vaughan, 80, said people firing their guns in the air was a common practice in the Los Angeles area, saying that ‘people shoot their guns as part of fireworks’.
‘This is a human rights issue,’ she added.
Vaughan said she drove 20 miles to attend Porter Jr’s vigil rather than go to an anti-ICE protest closer to her home, and said she wanted to pay her respects because ‘his life was valuable, his life mattered’.
Civil rights activist Ben Crump also called out the case on X, saying in a post: ‘Keith Porter Jr. was a father of two, a son, and a brother whose life was stolen by an off-duty ICE agent.
‘His family gathered in grief demanding the truth. We will continue to stand with Keith Porter Jr.’s family until there is justice, transparency, and answers.’
The Daily Mail has contacted Porter Jr’s attorney and ICE for comment.
