June 15, 2026
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
An ICE agent suffered 'unknown injuries' after being struck by a van Monday morning, police said.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was hit by a van that he was attempting to stop to make an arrest in Ocean County on Monday morning.
The officer, who was injured during the altercation on Route 72 near Mermaid Drive in Manahawkin, fired his gun and hit the vehicle as it drove away, Stafford Township Police said. An investigation into the incident is underway.
“The agent reportedly sustained unknown injuries and it is unknown if the suspect was injured at this time,” police said in a statement. “There is no reason to believe there is any concern for the public’s safety.”
The driver escaped the scene and has not been located as of Monday afternoon. The agent was transported to a local hospital for treatment, a spokesperson for ICE said in an email.
An ICE spokesperson said the agent was attempting to arrest Friedrich Castillo-Ormeno, an undocumented immigrant from Peru who had been ordered to be removed from the United States in January. The spokesperson said the incident is part of a "pattern of vehicle attacks" against ICE agents.
The name of the ICE agent has not been released.
Per New Jersey's Immigrant Trust Directive, issued in 2018, local law enforcement are limited in how they can provide assistance to federal immigration authorities. Stafford Township Police said they were not assisting ICE in the operation and will not be assisting with investigating the incident.
