ICE Agent’s Bullet Hit Infant Car Seat of Maine Victim’s Daughter—Attorney - Newsweek

A car seat belonging to the daughter of a Colombian man shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Maine cannot be returned to the family because it was struck by one of the agent's bullets, it was revealed Tuesday.

The revelation came during a House Oversight Committee hearing, led by Democratic Party members, over the fatal shootings connected to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents during the Trump administration, including Joan Sebastian Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, in July.

Sean P. Murphy, an attorney representing Guerrero's family, told the hearing that the family had sought the return of evidence collected from the scene when he was shot as he drove away from his home on July 13, but his daughter Dulce's car seat could not be returned.

Guerrero's wife, Carolina, asked the Maine Attorney General's Office why the seat could not be returned.

"Well, because just like bullets fired by a federal agent struck and killed Joan Sebastian, a bullet fired by a federal agent struck and pierced Dulce's car seat," Murphy said. "I would remind you that early reporting was that Dulce was in the car with Joan at the time of his shooting.

"She was not, thank God, but if she had…" he said before pausing.

Newsweek reached out to DHS, the Maine Attorney General's Office, and Murphy's office for comment Tuesday.

The Maine Attorney General is currently investigating ICE's use of deadly force in the state, which came just days after another immigrant, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, was shot dead in Houston.

His sons were also at the House Oversight hearing Tuesday, alongside Renee Nicole Good's mother and brother, Ruben Ray Martinez's mother, and Alex Pretti's friend, all giving their testimony on the impact of losing a loved one to a fatal federal agent shooting.

"This is an exclusive club whose membership dues no one would ever want to pay. A congregation whose baptism by hellfire no one should ever have to endure," Murphy said of the group of people killed by federal agents.

Guerrero, a married father of a 3-year-old daughter who was legally authorized to work in the United States, was killed by an ICE officer as he drove away from his home in Biddeford.

While agents were carrying out enforcement operations, the 26-year-old was reported to have not been the initial target.

Witnesses to the incident said they heard multiple gunshots in the street, along with shouts from agents. Guerrero was later seen being pulled from his vehicle, claiming he had tried to stop.

While officers attempted lifesaving medical care, he died on the scene.

Unlike in other fatal shootings, ICE did not claim Guerrero had sought to weaponize his vehicle. Instead, the agency said he was fleeing agents.

The Maine Attorney General, Aaron M. Frey, announced an independent investigation into the fatal shooting.

Under Maine state law, Frey’s office has "exclusive responsibility" to investigate homicides and any use of deadly force by a federal agent, according to an update released August 17.

That update said the office had been collecting, processing, and analyzing relevant evidence connected to the case, to determine whether legal action should be taken.

Murphy said Tuesday that there were no similar investigations into fatal ICE shootings elsewhere in the country.

In Minnesota, officials are pursuing a case against a federal agent involved in a non-fatal shooting during enforcement operations in January—a shooting which fell between the deaths of Good and Pretti.

During the hearing Tuesday, emotional testimonies were also heard from the loved ones of others shot dead by ICE agents.

Martinez’s mother, Rachel Reyes, spoke about her son’s death in South Padre Island in March 2025, explaining how ICE’s involvement was unclear until earlier this year. She told lawmakers that her son had not weaponized his vehicle as DHS claimed, noticeably tearing up multiple times as she spoke about her son being out for a normal evening with his friend, Joshua Orta.

"What happened to my son is personal, but it should be of concern to all," she said, while being comforted by Good’s mother seated next to her.

"His death reflects a pattern of callousness and power imbalance that allows rights to be violated without consequence. The very conduct our constitution was meant to prevent."

Donna Ganger, Good’s mother, expressed her condolences to all the other families represented in the room, and said she hoped the U.S. could do the right thing on behalf of their loved ones.

Good was shot dead by an ICE agent during the government’s enforcement operations in Minneapolis on January 7, as she appeared to turn her car away from federal agents. Her death sparked mass protests both in the Twin Cities and across the country.

"All the beautiful and joyful things Renee would have done with her life are now simply silence," Ganger said.

A few weeks later, Pretti was killed by a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer during those protests, as he appeared to try to tend to another civilian in the street.

"I watched Alex die, it all happened so fast," his friend Stella Carlson told the committee. "Alex laid in the street abandoned, as if his life had no value."

The committee also heard from Salgado Araujo’s sons, Ronaldo and Lorenzo, who described a "nightmare" for their family for two months since his death in Houston. Their mother, they explained, now spends hours each day at his memorial, rather than cooking as she did before.

The stories prompted strong criticism of the Trump administration from Representative Robert Garcia and Senator Richard Blumenthal, both Democrats who chaired the meeting in lieu of GOP representation.

"It’s so important, for this joint committee, for there to be accountability," Garcia said. "It’s going to be up to use to hold those responsible, including the agents that murdered your family members, responsible."

Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Gray R. Thomas