A Venezuelan man shot dead by an off-duty FBI agent in Chicago had been caught at the southern border and released into the U.S. Months earlier, federal law enforcement sources said.
The man, Oscar D. Corrales, 27, was killed Monday night in the 1700 block of South Union Avenue after he was seen firing a gun toward a homeless encampment, the sources said. The agent was driving alone when he spotted the gunfire, got out of his vehicle, and shot Corrales dead.
The Chicago Police Department confirmed officers responded to a shooting involving federal agents at that location. The department said its Investigative Response Team documented the scene and referred questions to the FBI’s Chicago field office.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office provided a record identifying Corrales as a 27-year-old man under case number 5735.
Multiple federal law enforcement sources said Corrales was apprehended at the southern border in October 2023 and subsequently released into the United States during the Biden administration.
Corrales also had a previous arrest in California, where he was released from custody despite an ICE detainer, according to the sources. The circumstances of that arrest, including the charges he faced and which California jurisdiction released him, were not immediately available.
Sources emphasized that the deadly encounter in Chicago was not connected to any immigration enforcement operation. The FBI agent was off duty when he encountered Corrales, and the shooting was described as an unrelated incident.
The FBI’s Chicago field office did not immediately provide additional information about the shooting or the circumstances surrounding the agent’s involvement when reached for comment.
The case adds to ongoing scrutiny of border enforcement and custody decisions involving migrants arrested after entering the U.S. Illegally. ICE detainers are requests that local law enforcement hold individuals for federal immigration authorities, but some jurisdictions decline to honor them.