Federal agents shot into a van during an immigration operation in Maryland on Christmas Eve in an incident that left two men hospitalized, federal authorities said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers approached a van in a quiet neighborhood in Glen Burnie, south of Baltimore, on Wednesday morning and instructed the driver to turn off the engine, according to Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. The department described the driver, who is from Portugal, and his passenger, who is from El Salvador, as being in the U.S. illegally; the driver had overstayed a visa that expired in 2009, the department said.

According to McLaughlin, the driver refused to turn off the engine and “drove his van directly at ICE officers,” hitting ICE vehicles as he tried to flee. McLaughlin said the agents fired their service weapons at the driver in self-defense.

The driver of the van was shot and crashed between two buildings, McLaughlin said. The passenger suffered whiplash in the crash. Both men were taken to a local hospital, where they are in stable condition, McLaughlin said. She said the ICE agents were “not severely injured.”

McLaughlin said the incident is under investigation.

The incident comes after months of tension between federal agents, local authorities and community members as the Trump administration ramps up its immigration enforcement operations. In September, a man opened fire on an ICE facility in Dallas, killing two detainees and injuring another in what officials described as an anti-ICE attack. In October, federal officers in Los Angeles shot an immigrant and a U.S. marshal during what DHS said was a “traffic enforcement stop.” Last month, two National Guard members who were deployed to Washington, D.C., as part of what the Trump administration described as a crime crackdown were shot in a “targeted” attack, officials said; one was killed and the other hospitalized in critical condition.

The Anne Arundel County Police Department will investigate Wednesday’s shooting, while the FBI will investigate the alleged attempt to harm ICE officers, said Justin Mulcahy, an Anne Arundel County Police Department spokesman.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said in a post on X that he was aware of the “ICE-involved shooting” in Glen Burnie.

“As information surrounding the incident continues to emerge, we will remain in touch with local officials and are standing by to provide support for the community,” Moore said.

Allison Pickard, a council member in Anne Arundel County, called for authorities to release more information.

“Our community deserves answers — and a clear, accountable process for investigation and disclosing the findings as well as an assurance that tactics will focus more on deescalation,” she said in a statement.

Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman criticized the Trump administration’s immigration operations in a statement to WTTG.

“We have federal law enforcement operating in our jurisdictions without the traditional notification of local police and often without identification,” Pittman said. “It is a recipe for violence, and that is what we experienced in our county today.”

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Incidents of domestic violence can surge around the holidays, and Maryland is now the first in the nation to offer a hotline directly to potential — or even actual — abusers.

What we know:

A doctor at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital is working on perfecting an AI algorithm for early detection of intimate partner violence — or IPV.

The “when” is key, so it was noteworthy when she released a study two years ago identifying spikes of IPV on Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Maryland’s leading IPV center — House of Ruth — is hoping to help with early detection and prevention this holiday season. They’ve developed the first 24-hour hotline in the country that caters entirely to potential or actual perpetrators of domestic violence.

House of Ruth launched the hotline in April. COO Lisa Nitsch says there was some concern when they were building the hotline about whether anyone would use it, but they’ve already been receiving calls.

“Domestic violence and intimate partner violence is wrong. But when it gets down to impacting somebody that you care about who might be hurting their family, it’s a lot harder of a conversation. So one of the things we’ve been concentrating on is removing barriers for people who might be at risk for hurting their families. Removing barriers for them to access services themselves. So eliminating fees for intervention programming. We just launched the first 24-hour crisis hotline for people at risk of abusing their partner, which is a new thing,” said Nitsch.

The goal is early detection and prevention. The hotline is supposed to provide an outlet for people who are at risk for hurting their families. House of Ruth provides trauma-informed care.

Now they have received a grant from the governor’s office to promote it. But the jury is still out on whether it will be a success.

What they’re saying:

Some may be critical of marshaling resources toward abusers instead of survivors. 

Jac Patrissi created a similar hotline in Massachusetts that was available for 12 hours a day. In an interview with Bryn Mawr College, she said the burden of stopping abuse has always been on the victim — call a hotline or police, find a shelter. She believes in intervening sooner with those causing harm.

“We want to interrupt abusers in the way that they’re thinking, their values. And we want them to come up with a plan and write it down, and then call us and tell us how it has gone,” said Patrissi.

Local perspective:

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown’s cousin Kathy was murdered by her estranged partner in 2008. This issue is personal for him.

“I know, you know, that’s a contentious issue in the advocacy community — how much do you support abusers?” said Brown. “Look, I think that if there’s evidence-based practices that can assist in reducing domestic violence, and if that means supporting abusers so that they can better understand what are their triggers — what is it that leads them to abusing their partner, their spouse, their children — then I think it’s worth looking into and worth supporting.”

WASHINGTON – The holiday season is upon us! Christmas is just a few days away, and for the most part, it does look like the weather is going to cooperate over the holidays. 

In fact, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day could be two of the warmer days of the year for our region, which is not saying much. Washington, D.C. is running more than six degrees below normal for the month so far, temperature-wise, our coldest December since 2010.

Some sunshine is expected for Christmas Eve with temperatures in D.C. expected to rise into the middle 50s with light winds. It should be one of the more comfortable afternoons of the month with sunny skies. 

Clouds will increase during the evening hours, though some rain showers possible in the first half of Christmas Day. These should be scattered about though — the holiday does not look like a washout. 

All things considered, not a bad Christmas! But no threat of a white Christmas either for those that were looking for some holiday snow.

It is the Friday after Christmas that bears watching! Cold air gets pushed southward into the Mid-Atlantic on Friday morning, courtesy of a high pressure system pushing through eastern Canada. 

A steady northeast wind will “trap” this cold air southward, something that often happens in this region during the winter months due to our proximity to the Appalachian Mountains to the west.

By Friday afternoon, a fast moving storm system is expected to cross the region from west to east. As mid-level winds are out of the southwest, southern moisture will gather along a warm front, meeting the cold air stuck across the region and causing precipitation to break out. 

While some initial snowflakes at onset are possible, especially in our northern zones, the depth of the cold air is forecast to be pretty shallow. So, the bulk of precipitation locally is forecast to fall as sleet and freezing rain.

Sleet is ice pellets, snow that has melted to rain, only to refreeze before hitting the ground. A slushy accumulation of sleet is enough to cause travel issues and slick spots. Freezing rain falls like rain, but freezes on contact with a surface where temperatures are below freezing. 

Ice is a major concern to travelers. Such mixtures are difficult to pre-treat roadways for, as the more liquid nature of the precipitation can lead to runoff of any pre-treatment chemicals.

The question with shallow cold air events like this one is how long will the cold air hold on, and how fast will the region transition over to all just plain old rainfall, if they even do at all. 

In similar past events, weather models tend to underplay how long cold air lingers in the D.C. region, leading to a longer than expected sleet and freezing rain event. This is particularly true in our northern zones, where cold air just naturally hangs on longer. 

Winter advisories seem likely for parts of the region on Friday due to the threat for icing and hazardous travel conditions. Those traveling, especially Friday afternoon and evening, should exercise extreme caution.

Snowfall wise, the best chance of getting any snow would be at the very start of the event when the depth of the cold air is deepest. Some models do suggest there could be a quick burst of snow in our suburbs north of D.C. that could put down a quick coating before a transition over to a mixture of sleet and freezing rain. 

For travelers, heavier snow looks more likely across the Northeast. Cities like New York and Boston could squeeze out a few inches of snow, while interior regions could see 4-8″ of snowfall, which is likely to disrupt travel on a regional basis.

After the system moves out of the region early on Saturday morning, the remainder of the weekend looks rather mild weather wise. 

Impacts from the Friday system should not linger as temperatures rise well above freezing on Saturday with 50s possible by Sunday. Though a few showers are possible Sunday as well, it does not look overly impactful for travel.

The next blast of strong, cold winter air is set to move into the D.C. region just ahead of the New Year’s Holiday. Tuesday in particular looks especially cold, with high temperatures struggling to make it above freezing across much of the region. 

At the moment, it does look like this next burst of cold will come without any winter weather threats, but it is far enough in the future that we need to monitor for potential forecast changes. We will keep you updated! 

From all of us here on the FOX 5 Weather Team, happy holidays and Merry Christmas! Have a safe and wonderful holiday.