ICE agent believed responsible for L.A. killing accused of child abuse, racism in court filings

Community members gather at a vigil for Keith Porter Jr., who was killed in a New Year’s Eve shooting involving off-duty ICE officer.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

James Queally

Libor Jany

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Richard Winton

Jan. 16, 2026

12:43 PM PT

9 min

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A court filing in a custody dispute claims to have identified the federal agent who fatally shot a man on New Year’s Eve in Northridge while off-duty.

The document says the ICE agent allegedly whipped his sons with a belt, made homophobic slurs and racist remarks about Black and Latino people and brought a gun to a youth sports game.

Federal officials have defended the agent’s actions on New Year’s Eve, saying he was responding to an “active shooter” in his apartment complex. Friends of the man killed say he was firing a gun into the air.

A court filing made public this week claims to reveal the identity of the off-duty federal immigration agent who shot and killed a Los Angeles man on New Year’s Eve and includes allegations that the law enforcement officer whipped his sons with a belt and made racist and homophobic remarks in the past, according to documents obtained by The Times.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officer Brian Palacios shot Keith Porter Jr. late on Dec. 31, 2025 at a Northridge apartment complex, according to a sworn declaration submitted by attorney Michelle Diaz in a custody dispute between Palacios’ girlfriend and her ex-husband, which was made public Thursday. The document alleges that Palacios is the shooter “based on information and belief,” citing records and testimony identifying him as an ICE agent who lives in the complex.

A review of court transcripts, proof of service documents and motions related to the custody battle shows Palacios is an ICE agent and confirms that he lives in a unit at the Village Pointe Apartments. The unit number reflects an apartment that is just a short distance from the location where neighbors say Keith Porter Jr. was killed.

Attorneys for Palacios and his girlfriend did not immediately respond to a request for comment. No one answered the door at the apartment on Friday.

Friends and advocates say Porter Jr. — a 43-year-old Compton native and father of two — was firing a gun into the air to celebrate the New Year on the night of his death.

Tricia McLaughlin, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s assistant secretary of public affairs, initially said a suspected “active shooter” was killed following an exchange of gunfire with an off-duty ICE agent. In her statement, McLaughlin said the agent “bravely responded to an active shooter situation at his apartment complex.”

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LAPD investigation continues into fatal New Year’s Eve shooting by off-duty ICE agent

Federal officials have said the ICE agent was responding to an “active shooter situation” at his apartment complex. A Los Angeles police official said it was “too early to tell” if the man killed was firing a gun into the air on New Year’s Eve.

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McLaughlin did not immediately address questions about the agent’s identity and the allegations against him in response to an inquiry from The Times.

Los Angeles police said no one else was injured in the incident. An LAPD spokesman declined to comment.

Jamal Tooson, an attorney for Porter Jr.’s family, said in a statement: “Should this individual be confirmed as the person responsible for Keith’s death, based on his deeply disturbing past allegations it is unimaginable that any human being with a conscience on this earth could regard him as a hero.”

A spokesperson for the L.A. County district attorney’s office declined to confirm or deny that Palacios was the off-duty agent responsible for the shooting and said the incident is under investigation by the Justice System Integrity Division, which investigates killings by law enforcement officers.

A meeting of the Los Angeles Police Commission was packed last week with angry activists and residents, many of whom called for authorities to release the ICE agent’s name. While the names of LAPD officers involved in fatal use-of-force incidents are normally made public within weeks, there is no such rule for federal agencies.

Court records filed last year in the custody dispute repeatedly describe Palacios as an “ICE officer” and “federal law enforcement officer.” An attorney for Palacios’ girlfriend said they lived together, according to a court transcript. The woman’s home address listed in court records is the same as the address for the Village Pointe complex.

The document filed this week sought to temporarily bar Palacios’ girlfriend from seeing her daughter from her first marriage, based on the potential danger posed by the ICE agent’s alleged involvement in the shooting.

“Palacios is presently prohibited by Court Order from being in the presence of the parties’ minor children because of his abusive conduct,” read the filing from Diaz, who represents the ex-husband of Palacios’ girlfriend. “There is a very valid concern that the stress of having shot and killed another man on 12/31/2025, and the ongoing aftermath, will materially and substantially impair Mother’s mental health, and impact her ability to provide a safe and stable parenting schedule for their youngest child.”

In an e-mail to The Times, Diaz said she did not have direct knowledge that Palacios killed Porter Jr., but had reached that conclusion based on the evidence laid out in her court filing, including his living arrangements and his employment as an ICE agent. An attorney for Palacios’ girlfriend also confirmed they lived together and that he is an ICE agent during a February 2025 court hearing, according to court records.

E-mails attached to the filing show Diaz asked her client’s ex-wife if Palacios was the shooter, and the woman referred Diaz to a criminal defense attorney.

The fatal New Year’s Eve incident follows several others in recent weeks in which ICE agents have used deadly force against U.S. citizens.

Last week, ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed 37-year-old Minneapolis woman Renee Good. President Trump and other federal officials have accused Good of obstructing immigration efforts and said she tried to hit Ross with her car, but cell phone footage from the scene shows Good was trying to drive away and that Ross shot at her from behind. The killing has drawn widespread condemnation and protests; Trump administration officials have staunchly defended the agent and accused Good of weaponizing her vehicle in “an act of domestic terrorism.”

Law enforcement officers attend to the scene of the shooting involving federal law enforcement agents, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

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Unlike the Minnesota incident, which was captured on multiple videos, no recordings have surfaced from the confrontation that led to Porter Jr.’s killing.

It remains unclear exactly what happened in Northridge around 10:40 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. Palacios was off-duty, so there is no body camera footage. None of the building’s security cameras captured the shooting either, according to a message from the property management company.

Two law enforcement officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, told The Times that Porter Jr. was found in possession of a rifle. One of those officials said investigators also found evidence of two bullet impacts behind where the agent would have been standing at the time of the shooting, which would support federal authorities claims that he was fired upon by Porter Jr. The official also said the agent identified himself as law enforcement before opening fire.

Porter Jr.’s friends and family have argued he was firing a gun in the air to celebrate the New Year. Los Angeles police officials have warned people against the practice for years, and doing so is a felony. Still, Porter Jr.’s supporters contend the agent overreacted and should have waited for LAPD to respond.

Last year, a Los Angeles County judge barred Palacios from being around his girlfriend’s children from a previous marriage in the wake of allegations that he had whipped his biological sons with a belt, according to a transcript of a 2025 hearing.

Through an attorney, the children also accused Palacios of using homophobic slurs and making racist remarks about Black and Latino people, according to a court transcript. Palacios also referred to the childrens’ biological father as an “illegal alien,” according to the allegations contained in court records.

Omar Escorcia, the ex-husband of Palacios’ girlfriend, told The Times that Palacios routinely made disparaging remarks about Latinos before and after custody hearings, referring to them as “wetbacks.” Attempts to contact Palacios were unsuccessful and his attorney did not respond to inquiries about the allegations of racist commentary.

Escorcia also described an alleged incident where Palacios showed up to a youth soccer game carrying a gun, which was visible to other parents and left several people upset and concerned for their kids’ safety.

“What law enforcement officer who is mindful of gun safety, shows up to a children’s sporting event with a gun that is not holstered, but stuck in their waistband, and they’re holding a toddler?” asked Escorcia’s attorney, Diaz, according to a transcript of a 2025 court hearing. “There are all kinds of red flags here.”

Palacios also threatened Escorcia’s son with violence, according to claims made by an attorney for the minors in multiple court filings

“If you were my son, I would punch you in the chest the same way,” he told Escorcia’s son after striking one of his own children, the child’s attorney alleged, according to a transcript of a 2025 custody hearing.

The L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services opened an investigation, according to court records, but it was not clear what the results were. A DCFS spokeswoman said she was barred from answering questions about the incident by state law.