CHICAGO — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said someone fired at federal agents Saturday morning in the Little Village neighborhood, touching off a chaotic series of confrontations between agents and residents armed with whistles and bent on disrupting their operation.

Both Chicago police and federal officials were seen making several arrests in the morning as agents, including Cmdr. Gregory Bovino, circled the neighborhood, deploying chemical crowd controls in several locations.

In a written statement Saturday, DHS officials said Border Patrol officers were fired on by an unknown man in a Black Jeep, who fled the scene. No one was reported injured and few details were offered.

The statement also stated that “agitators threw a paint can and bricks at Border Patrol’s vehicles,” adding that Chicago police helped clear the scene.

In its own statement, the Chicago Police Department said officers responded to calls of shots fired at federal agents, but found no signs of anyone struck by gunfire and secured the area where the alleged shooting took place. Police reported one officer was in good condition after being struck by a vehicle during the chaos, and the driver was cited.

The heavily armed agents, who were dressed in full camouflage, appeared in Little Village for the second time this week in what residents described as a “show of force” and a possible act of retaliation following a recent court order restricting the agency’s use of force against protesters.

For nearly two hours, residents trailed the convoy, documenting its movements as it wound erratically through residential streets. According to local organizers, agents detained at least six people, including U.S. citizens who were protesting the operation.

Near the iconic Little Village arch, Bovino — flanked by agents carrying firearms and tear gas — stepped out of his vehicle to face a crowd of outraged community members demanding that the agents leave their neighborhood.

“They come in like thugs and expect us to give them a hug and a kiss?” asked community leader Baltazar Enríquez, addressing Bovino directly. “They’re doing it on purpose — to put on a show for their supporters and to test us. They want to provoke the community. Don’t fall for the bait.”

In a written statement Saturday, DHS officials said Border Patrol officers were fired on by an unknown man in a Black Jeep near 26th Street and Kedzie Avenue.

The confrontation marks the latest flash point in growing tension between local residents and federal immigration authorities, with many accusing Border Patrol of intimidation and harassment rather than legitimate enforcement.

As agents drove away from the heart of Little Village, protesters followed, while others were caught up in the morning’s events. Agents ventured into Little Village several times during the morning, departing and returning as crowds grew. The standoff appeared to begin just before 9:30 a.m., near 26th and Kedzie.

Kari López was at work in a pharmacy located at that intersection when she heard car horns honking and people whistling. “I ran out there and they started whistling,” said López, 24. “The agents started getting out of their cars. We were telling them that they were on private property. They kept telling us to back up. One guy didn’t back up.”

Video footage shared with the Tribune shows federal agents outside Aguascalientes, a Mexican restaurant on the 3100 block of West 26th at 9:25 a.m., gesturing to move backward and then firing pepper balls at the ground as onlookers said, “We’re not doing anything violent!”

The footage also shows Bovino, who earlier this week was admonished in court for lying about his use of force against civilians and media, pacing back and forth holding a can of tear gas and pointing it in front of screaming neighbors before a group of Chicago police officers approached him.

Residents followed the agents down 26th, hanging out of car windows, blaring whistles and laying on their horns as dozens of vehicles made their way through the neighborhood. One man was seen throwing fireworks out of a car sunroof as a group of agents moved eastward on 26th around 11 a.m.

Agents pointed guns out of their car windows at civilians and members of the media, including two Tribune photographers, as they roamed around the neighborhood.

Near the intersection of 26th and Ogden Avenue, a woman sat in the passenger seat of a car, bouncing an infant girl. The girl was silent, her eyes damp and bloodshot. Next to the car, a man screamed and stripped off his shirt. Another woman spoke to him in Spanish, telling him to let her put water on his head.

The man and the baby had both been hit by pepper spray.

The man, the woman and a few others conferred frantically to figure out who had a driver’s license before they got into a New Life Centers van to go to the hospital.

Dozens of cars carrying federal agents rolled out of the Home Depot seconds later. Angry residents followed and traffic became snarled briefly as agents got out of their cars and faced the civilians. Bovino could be seen shouting at people to move back on a grassy hill off Ogden as some agents held handguns close to their bulletproof vests.

Agents drove north on Kostner Avenue with neighbors in pursuit. Residents chased the convoy on foot, on scooters and in cars, sounding their horns, swerving in and out of traffic lanes and turning the heads of dozens of shoppers along Kostner and Roosevelt Road as the agents headed back to the FBI headquarters.

Inside the iron fence of the FBI office, agents emptied out of their cars to gather in a parking lot while civilians screamed profanities at them from behind a metal fence.

“Go, leave, leave,” Baltazar Enríquez told Bovino.

After three hours, CPD blocked the streets, which stopped people from following the Border Patrol convoy.

“Either you’re with us or against us, either you protect us or protect ICE,” Enríquez told a CPD officer blocking those following the convoy.

Ald. Michael Rodríguez, 22nd, said a Chicago police officer assigned to crowd control duties was struck by a vehicle amid the commotion near 26th and Troy Avenue. The officer was transported to a nearby hospital and is reported to be in stable condition, Rodríguez said.

Rodríguez described the agents’ presence as another attempt to “terrorize the community.” The alderman, who was following the agents’ movements, said they attempted to carry out several arrests, including by entering Aguascalientes.

Earlier in the week, agents had surrounded the restaurant but refrained from entering. On Friday, however, a group of agents, including Bovino, entered the business despite signage on the door stating that federal officers were not permitted inside without a warrant.

“They said they were just here to buy something,” said employee Elizabeth Gutiérrez. “I told them we wouldn’t serve them and escorted them out. Bovino seemed upset, but I don’t care.” Gutiérrez added that the restaurant’s business has been severely affected by the ongoing federal presence in the neighborhood.

Rodríguez condemned the agents’ behavior, calling it deliberate provocation. “I absolutely think they’re doing it (going to 26th Street) on purpose, they’re trying to agitate the community,” he said. “I’ve been very impressed by how residents have remained nonviolent, but we need to make sure we’re here for one another and maintain our moral strength.”

“After a court reprimanded Bovino for his lies and blatant abuses of power, he is back on our streets, threatening violence in our communities,” state Rep. Delia Ramírez said in a statement. “We won’t let a small, insecure man terrorize us. We know our rights, and we won’t be intimidated.”

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