Masked federal agents shattered the driver’s side window of a car parked outside a Van Nuys Mexican restaurant and were seen detaining two men and a woman Tuesday.
The incident unfolded at around 10:30 a.m. on the corner of Kester Avenue and Sherman Way.
Witnesses told KTLA’s John Fenoglio that the Camaro pulled into the parking lot and was quickly swarmed by unmarked cars carrying masked men wearing tactical vests who surrounded the vehicle with guns pointed.
The two men were pulled from the driver’s side of the vehicle, pushed to the ground and cuffed by three federal agents while a woman in the passenger side front seat, an American citizen, who was screaming at an agent pointing a gun at her as she opened the door, got out and was placed against the vehicle.
Her father, Raul Martinez, said his daughter was in the car with her boyfriend and another friend when the ordeal played out.
“She was so afraid,” he said. “She was so upset.”
Federal agents detained three people at gunpoint outside a Van Nuys Mexican restaurant on Sept. 9, 2025. (Mariscos Corona) 
Federal agents detained three people at gunpoint outside a Van Nuys Mexican restaurant on Sept. 9, 2025. (Mariscos Corona) 
Federal agents detained three people at gunpoint outside a Van Nuys Mexican restaurant on Sept. 9, 2025. (Mariscos Corona) 
Federal agents detained three people at gunpoint outside a Van Nuys Mexican restaurant on Sept. 9, 2025. (Mariscos Corona) 
Federal agents detained three people at gunpoint outside a Van Nuys Mexican restaurant on Sept. 9, 2025. (Mariscos Corona) 
Federal agents detained three people at gunpoint outside a Van Nuys Mexican restaurant on Sept. 9, 2025.(RMG News) 
Federal agents detained three people at gunpoint outside a Van Nuys Mexican restaurant on Sept. 9, 2025.(RMG News)
Martinez’s daughter was detained and then released a short time later. However, the fate of her boyfriend and friend, both of whom are lawful permanent residents or green card holders, according to witnesses, is currently unclear. Both men were taken away.
“They do this to people, hard-working people and to me it’s really unfair,” Martinez said.
He added that he is unaware of any criminal history for the two men in the car with his daughter and believes the federal government’s tactics are an injustice.
Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department responded to the incident at around 10:45 a.m. after receiving reports of masked men pointing guns at a car. Police officials told KTLA that when officers realized it was a federal enforcement operation, they remained at the scene until the situation was over.
The incident in Van Nuys comes just one day after the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily lifted restrictions on roving ICE patrols and it’s unclear why the occupants of the Camaro were targeted.
KTLA has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, which houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement, for clarification on why the vehicle was targeted and whether there was reasonable suspicion or probable cause that justified the stop and is awaiting a response.
Asked earlier in the day about the enforcement activity in Van Nuys, a spokesperson for ICE released the following statement to KTLA:
“ICE is conducting routine law enforcement operations across the nation on a daily basis. Due to our operational tempo and increased interest in our mission, we are not able to research every arrest.”
