Chicago TV reporter shot at with pepper ball while driving outside ICE facility

Asal Rezaei, a reporter for Chicago-based WBBM-TV, was shot at with crowd-control munitions and overcome by chemical irritant while driving near a federal immigration facility in Broadview, Illinois, on Sept. 28, 2025.

Protesters have been gathering for weeks outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility where detainees are being held and processed ahead of deportation.

After federal officers opened fire with crowd-control munitions on those present, including multiple journalists, on Sept. 26, Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson sent a letter to DHS accusing ICE officials of “making war” on her community.

In retaliation, according to a Sept. 27 news release from the village, “ICE agents this morning informed the Broadview Police Department that there will be ‘a sh*t show’ in Broadview today.” Indeed, federal officers responded to protests with chemical irritants and crowd-control munitions that day, affecting multiple journalists, and later arresting one reporter.

WBBM-TV reported that when Rezaei drove up to the facility in the late morning of Sept. 28, there were no protests going on. She was alone in her car and turning the vehicle around when a federal officer shot at her with a pepper ball from approximately 50 feet away.

“An ICE agent that was masked pointed his weapon and shot directly at my car. He saw that my window was open,” Rezaei said. “I was sitting right there with my window open. A lot of it went inside of my car and on my face. I immediately felt it burning, and I started throwing up.”

The station reported that many staff reporters, photojournalists and others have been assigned to drive past the facility to monitor for protests and other newsworthy activity.

Rezaei filed a police report, saying in part that it was unclear why the officer shot at her and noting that, while she did not identify herself verbally as a member of the press, her car has been at the facility multiple times.

In a statement shared with the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, Broadview Police Chief Thomas Mills said that the department has launched an investigation into the incident, describing it as “an allegedly unprovoked attack.” He added that the police department expects the full cooperation of the Department of Homeland Security in the investigation.

DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“The scariest part about this is I could have been anybody, and I could have been killed,” Rezaei said. “I was driving my vehicle; it was moving when they shot directly at my car.”