During an immigration enforcement operation in Los Angeles last week, armed and masked federal agents reportedly drove into the car of a detained U.S. citizen while his 1-year-old daughter was strapped into the back seat while witnesses protested, according to multiple media reports.
The incident occurred Nov. 4 outside Cypress Park Home Depot shortly after 32-year-old Dennis Quinonez got out of his car with a hammer and threw rocks at federal agents, reports said. The Los Angeles Times reported.
In the criminal complaint against Quinonez, federal officials said that as they were preparing to leave the area, they saw him place the hammer in the trunk of his SUV, and they allegedly observed him throwing rock-like objects at their car.
Agents then used their vehicles to surround the SUV to prevent him from leaving, at which time Quinonez got out of his vehicle and began screaming that he had put his daughter in the back seat.
In the complaint, agents said a crowd of people began to gather, prompting them to move Quinonez and his daughter to a different location in an attempt to keep them together, but an agent discovered a gun wrapped in a blue bandana while he was placing the girl’s father in the seat of his SUV.
Agents then transported Quinonez and his daughter separately to another location, where a search of the vehicle revealed that the gun, which had been reported stolen from New York State, was loaded with five rounds of ammunition, the complaint alleges.
Quinonez, who was reportedly convicted in 2014 of domestic violence in Los Angeles County and cannot legally carry a gun, claimed the firearm belonged to a friend, federal officials said. Authorities also said he admitted to throwing rocks at agents because he believed they were Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said: “He was arrested for assault and during his arrest a handgun was found in his vehicle, reportedly stolen from New York State.” The times. “The individual has an active warrant for property damage.”
Linda Toczylowski of the Immigrant Advocates Law Center told the outlet that heavily armed federal agents put the young child in an extremely dangerous situation.
“It should shock everyone’s conscience that we had armed, masked men acting this way to a US citizen father and a young child who were on their way to run an errand at Home Depot on a random Tuesday,” she said.
The child has since been returned to her family members, although the girl’s grandmother, Maria Avalos, who watched the video of the terrifying ordeal, said the footage was horrific.
In a statement “When I took my granddaughter from the federal agents, she had a dirty diaper, a bruise on her face, she had a rash. She was exhausted and cried,” Avalos said, obtained by MSNBC’s Jacob Soboroff.
A little less than an hour later, Reposted by Gov. Gavin Newsom MSNBC story, saying only: “This is sick.”
Federal authorities have since charged Quinonez with unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person previously convicted of domestic violence. It is unclear whether he remains in detention.
Five other illegal immigrants were also arrested outside Home Depot, with Department of Homeland Security officials telling the Los Angeles Times that their criminal records include DUI, driving without a license and prior deportation from the United States.