Employee who works at Aurora ICE Processing Center arrested, accused of shooting and injuring Colorado protester
An employee of the group that operates the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainment center in the Colorado city of Aurora is under arrest after police say he shot and injured a woman. The shooting happened outside the GEO Group's Aurora ICE Processing Center on Thursday evening. That's at 3130 Oakland Street.
Brandon Booth, 42, is facing charges of assault and attempted second-degree murder in the case. He was arrested in a vehicle on Nome Street less than two blocks from the shooting scene and the vehicle he was in had a gun inside, police said. APD said he is an employee of GEO Group.
Aurora police described the victim as a protester. Various groups have been protesting at different times outside the facility this year. It's not clear at this point what group the protester may have been part of.
Aurora police described the sequence of events as follows in an online post:
"Booth was waiting in his vehicle along Nome Street with other employees due to the protest impeding their ability to gain access to the facility for their work shifts. The two women initiated a verbal confrontation and took pictures of the employees' vehicles before walking away. At that point, Booth retrieved his personally owned pistol and fired a single shot in their direction, striking one of the women on her lower body. Booth then got into his vehicle and drove out of the area before he was detained."
The woman was shot in the lower part of her body. Her injuries were described as non-life threatening.
Police said they are asking anyone who might have footage of the shooting or the aftermath, or who has information about the case that they think might be helpful to investigators, to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867).
A GEO Group spokesperson shared the following statement: "We are aware that an off-duty Aurora ICE Processing Center employee was involved in a shooting incident. This individual has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, and we will fully cooperate with law enforcement."
