ICE Deportation Plane Struck by Stray Bullet During Mesa Shootout

(PHOENIX, ARIZONA) A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation plane parked at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport was struck by a stray bullet during a shootout between Mesa police and a suspect in the early hours of October 29, 2025, according to ICE and local authorities. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 operated for ICE by Avelo Airlines and used for deportation flights to Central America, was on the tarmac when the exchange of gunfire unfolded nearby after police responded to a trespassing call.

Mesa police said the confrontation began when officers were dispatched to a private property near the airport, where 34-year-old Cameron Oberlin had been told by a private security guard to leave. Officers said that when they arrived, Oberlin fled in his vehicle. Police then used a “grappler device” to stop him, a pursuit-ending tool that secures a fleeing car’s rear axle. A standoff followed in which Oberlin and officers exchanged gunfire. One officer was shot on the right side and later released from the hospital. Oberlin died at the scene from what Mesa police described as a “self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head.”

The round that struck the plane did not penetrate the fuselage, ICE said. In a statement, the agency said:

“A contracted charter aircraft, N801XT, was struck by a stray bullet while parked on the tarmac at Mesa-Gateway Airport in Mesa, Arizona. The bullet bounced off the plane, and no damage was reported. The incident was reported to the Mesa Police Department. The aircraft was not scheduled for a flight on the day of the incident, and its airworthiness was not affected. Operations were not impacted.”

ICE later reiterated the central portion of that message, with a spokesperson saying:

“The bullet bounced off the plane, and no damage was reported. The incident was reported to the Mesa Police Department. The aircraft was not scheduled for a flight on the day of the incident, and its airworthiness was not affected. Operations were not impacted.”

Despite that assurance, flight data reviewed after the incident shows the aircraft attempted a flight the next day that was aborted within minutes of takeoff. The plane has not left Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport since that attempt. Mesa police have not determined who fired the round that hit the plane, and the department has not provided further information about the bullet’s origin or responded to follow-up questions about the aborted flight.

No detainees or ICE personnel were reported injured. ICE said the plane was not scheduled for a mission on the day of the shooting and that its airworthiness was unchanged. The airport is a key hub for ICE’s flight network, commonly referred to by advocates and critics as “ICE Air,” and regularly hosts deportation departures to countries including Honduras and Guatemala. Officials and flight records show the Boeing 737-800 involved—tail number N801XT—had been operating routine transfers between ICE detention sites and removal flights to Central America prior to the shootout.

The incident underscores the risks of police activity spilling into the operational footprint of ICE at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, where both commercial operations and immigration enforcement flights share airspace and ground facilities. While police were responding to a call that began off airport property, the firefight’s proximity to a parked deportation plane immediately raised questions among airport workers, detainee advocates, and local officials about safety protocols when law enforcement actions unfold near secured aviation areas.

According to police, the confrontation with Oberlin started with a trespassing complaint and escalated rapidly. After he fled, officers used the grappler device to immobilize his vehicle, an intervention that has become more common among Arizona police agencies seeking to end pursuits without ramming or PIT maneuvers. In the ensuing standoff, gunfire was exchanged. One officer suffered a gunshot wound to the right side and was later discharged from the hospital. Mesa police said Oberlin died from a “self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head,” a determination that leaves the sequence of shots that struck the officer and the plane a central question for investigators.

In its statement, ICE emphasized that there was no structural harm to the aircraft and no disruption to its broader mission. The agency said,

“A contracted charter aircraft, N801XT, was struck by a stray bullet while parked on the tarmac at Mesa-Gateway Airport in Mesa, Arizona,”
and repeated that
“the bullet bounced off the plane, and no damage was reported.”

The agency added that “the aircraft was not scheduled for a flight on the day of the incident, and its airworthiness was not affected. Operations were not impacted.” Yet publicly available tracking records indicate the plane sought to depart the following day before returning to the airport shortly after takeoff, and it has remained grounded since, an apparent discrepancy that neither ICE nor Mesa police has addressed in detail.

The plane belongs to Avelo Airlines under contract with ICE for charter operations, part of a fleet that immigrant rights groups and aviation spotters say has been repainting to an all-white livery to make deportation aircraft less visible at airports amid protests. The aircraft, N801XT, has been used to move detainees between ICE detention facilities as well as for direct removal flights to Central America, including Honduras and Guatemala, according to flight histories reviewed before the shootout. The airport also hosts a lesser-known detention facility tied to these operations, making the Mesa site a routine launch point for removal flights during President Donald Trump’s second term.

For airport personnel, the single round striking the fuselage without causing damage suggests limited ballistic energy by the time it reached the plane. Still, the fact that a bullet from a police encounter near airport grounds made contact with a parked jet points to a safety gap that federal and local authorities will now have to address. Mesa police have not said whether bullets fired by officers or by Oberlin were responsible for the strike. Without clarity on the trajectory, the internal ballistics, or the precise distance from the firefight to the aircraft, it remains unclear whether the incident was a freak ricochet or a foreseeable hazard from gunfire within range of airfield infrastructure.

At the time of the exchange of gunfire, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport continued normal operations for other carriers, and there were no reports of disruptions to commercial flights. The ICE deportation plane was idle, with no detainees boarding or ICE personnel working on the aircraft. The agency emphasized that “operations were not impacted,” a phrase meant to reassure that deportation flights to Central America and transfers between detention locations could proceed as scheduled. However, the aborted takeoff the following day left a visible gap on tracking logs for N801XT and fueled questions about whether inspections or other precautions were triggered.

The focus now shifts to Mesa police investigators and airport authorities to map the path of the errant round and assess whether tactical decisions during the standoff accounted for the presence of sensitive aviation assets. Police have said little beyond the basic timeline: a trespassing call; a suspect told to leave by a private security guard; a vehicle fleeing; a grappler device stop; and a shootout that ended with one officer shot and Oberlin dead from a “self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head.” The department has not provided a schedule for releasing ballistic findings or any interim assessment of officer-involved gunfire protocols near the airfield perimeter.

ICE has not announced changes to flight schedules from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and says its broader operations remain intact. The agency’s network of contracted charters moves thousands of people each month, flying removal routes that can include multiple stops to consolidate detainees before international legs. The Mesa hub’s role in that system, along with a lesser-known detention facility adjacent to airport grounds, has grown as deportation activity increased during President Donald Trump’s second term. For critics of the deportation system, the stray bullet striking a plane at rest illustrates how enforcement and aviation operations can intersect in unpredictable ways. For airport officials and law enforcement, it poses a practical challenge: ensuring that a police shootout near a runway or taxiway never again risks contact with an aircraft.

As of now, Mesa police have not identified the source of the bullet that struck N801XT, and the department has not answered follow-up questions about the plane’s aborted flight the day after the incident. ICE’s position remains that

“the bullet bounced off the plane, and no damage was reported,”
that
“the aircraft was not scheduled for a flight on the day of the incident,”
and that
“its airworthiness was not affected.”

With the plane still grounded and the ballistic investigation pending, the immediate danger has passed, but the uneasy overlap of a police standoff and an airport housing a deportation fleet continues to draw scrutiny.

ICE has urged inquiries about the shooting to be directed to local authorities and noted that the incident was reported to Mesa police. The agency confirmed that there were no injuries to detainees or staff and no operational fallout from the event. For official updates on ICE operations, readers can consult U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.